Living Curse
by Writer of Destiny
Summary: Sequel! Eight years later, Yami's glad that past has been delt with, only Yugi seems to be battling his own inner demons. Yami begins to wonder if this is just teenage horomones or a more intesense repeat of the past.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Time Goes On**

"Yugi!" Yami called up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready!" He turned and headed back to the kitchen. Seigyoku was cooking breakfast while their daughter, Seimei, was already eating. Yami smiled and walked behind Seimei's chair. He picked her up and hugged her. "Morning my beautiful little girl." Seimei giggled.

"Good morning, daddy." She said, hugging his neck.

"Oh Yami," Seigyoku said. "Let her eat." She put two more eggs on a plate and set the plate on the table. Yami kissed Seimei's cheek before putting her back in her chair. Then, he snuck up behind Seigyoku and hugged her around the waist. "Yami!" she said, slightly surprised. He chuckled and kissed her. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

"Get a room," Yugi said as he opened the refrigerator door and poured himself a glass of orange juice. Yami chuckled and pulled away from Seigyoku and walked to Yugi.

"Good morning son," he said. He kissed Yugi's cheek. Yugi pulled away.

"There's no such thing as a good morning and stop treating me like a kid." He sat down at the table as Yami smiled at him.

It had been eight years since Yami and Seigyoku married Yugi was now thirteen and, not to Yami's liking, gothic. Another phase that seemed to have taken over Yugi was a horrible attitude. He seemed to only have negative thoughts and had become completely antisocial.

After one year of marriage, Yami and Seigyoku had Seimei. Now, at seven, she had dark, curly hair with bangs similar to Yami's and deep green eyes that brought out her glowing skin.

Then there was Seigyoku, looking as beautiful as she did when they first met. She hadn't aged a bit and she was still the same funny girl she had always been.

"What are you staring at?" Seigyoku asked humorously. Yami blinked and looked at Seigyoku, who was standing in from of him. "Don't you want some breakfast?" Yami smiled and nodded. He sat down at the table.

"Daddy was daydreaming!" Seimei said with a giggle. Yami smiled at her.

"Yeah," he said. "I was."

"About…?" Seigyoku asked. Yami shrugged.

"Everyday things," When everyone was done with breakfast, Yami stood and said, "C'mon guys, let's head for school." Yugi and Seimei grabbed their school backpacks.

"Bye mommy!" Seimei said, giving Seigyoku one last hug. Seigyoku hugged her firmly.

"Bye sweetie. See you after school." Seigyoku gave her a kiss, then Seimei headed for the door. Yami held it open for her, then they headed for the car, a black Ferrari. Yugi was already in the passenger seat listening to his iPod. Yami got in and looked at his son. The innocent look that once flooded his eyes had disappeared and had been replaced with a dull, bored look. Yugi noticed his father's staring and raised an eyebrow. Yami looked away and started the car. He backed out of the driveway and drove to the elementary school, where he dropped off Seimei, then to the Junior High to drop of Yugi.

"Have a good day," he said.

"There's no such thing as a good day," Yugi said with a sigh as he got out of the car. Yami sighed as he drove off. He drove to KaibaCorp, where he worked. He pulled into his parking space, grabbed his things, and set the car alarm as he walked into the building.

"Morning," Seto Kaiba, Yami's friend and boss," greeted as he walked into his office. Yami filled his mug with coffee and sat down in one of Seto's chairs.

"Morning," Yami greeted with a sigh.

"Rough morning?" Seto asked, turning away from his computer to face Yami. Yami shook his head.

"Just the usual. You?"

"Rough night!" Seigyoku said with a sigh. "Noah kept crying." Yami only nodded. About three years ago. Seto and Samara got married and they currently had eighteen month old son, Noah. Noah was often sickly; sometimes Yami and Joey, his and Seto's other friend and co-worker, weren't sure if Seto would come to work.

"Is he okay?" Yami asked. "Seto shrugged.

"A fever again," Yami fell silent. Though he would never admit it, he felt sorry for Seto and Samara. They had taken Noah to the best doctors in the world and all they were told was that Noah had a weak immune system. No one believed them though; they all agreed that Samara had a great pregnancy.

"Good morning!" Joey practically shouted as he walked into Seto's office.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Yami asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm getting married." Joey announced. Yami and Seto smiled.

"Komoura said yes?" Seto asked excitedly. Joey smiled his goofy grin and rubbed the back of his head. Joey and Komoura had been dating on and off for several years. They had always wanted to get married, but never could get enough money, and both refused to ask their friends for help. Now that they had enough, they felt it was time.

"Congratulations, Joey." Yami said.

"Thanks," he answered.

"When's the wedding?" Seto asked.

"We haven't decided it yet." Joey said, pouring himself some coffee. "Which reminds me," Joey walked over to the chair next to Yami and sat down. "Would you mind if we put Seimei in the wedding?" Yami smiled.

"I'm sure she would love it." Yami said. Joey smiled.

"Have you discussed the main topic?" Seto asked. Joey blinked, totally confused.

"Children," Yami answered, taking another sip of his coffee. Joey's expression grew serious.

"I don't know guys," he said.

"What's wrong?" Seto asked. "You're great with kids."

"Yeah," Yami agreed. "Mine love ya." Joey smiled.

"You guys just make it look easy." he said.

"It is," Yami and Seto said in unison with a light chuckle.

"All you have to do is go with your heart." Yami said.

"And never mimic your father." She added. "That's the unwritten rule." Joey laughed.

"Believe us," Yami continued. "You'd make a great dad." Joey smiled.

XXXX

Yami's job was to help Seto design and test virtual reality games. It would take them about one year to design settings, characters, story lines, etc. They money was good though. His work hours were from eight a.m. to five p.m.; Seigyoku would pick the kids up from school. Despite all the stress, Yami did enjoy his job; he was with his friends and it allowed them to spend some time together.

After work, Yami would go home and help Seigyoku with dinner if she needed it. If she didn't, he would either help Seimei with her homework or just relax if there was really nothing to do. Today was one of those days where there was nothing to do. As he entered the house, he could smell the food Seigyoku was good and smiled. He tossed his stuff onto the couch and stepped into the kitchen. Seigyoku smiled.

"Welcome back," she said turning to him. They shared a brief kiss and smiled at each other. "The kids are upstairs doing their homework," she added.

"Kay," Yami said with a nod. "What's from dinner?"

"Homemade pizza," Seigyoku declared. Yami smiled at her. He walked over to the refrigerator and got himself a soda. At the same time, Seigyoku's cat, Kiwi, waltzed in. He sat down and meowed at Yami's feet.

"Go away!" Yami said, trying to ignore him. Seigyoku glared at him as she kneeled down.

"Come see Kiwi!" She held out her arms. Kiwi happily trotted over to her. He nuzzled her hands as she began to pet him. "How's my little Ki-Cat?" Yami rolled his eyes. Seigyoku glared at him as she picked up Kiwi. "We've been married eight years and you still haven't gotten used to him?" she asked.

"What surprises me," Yami began. "Is that he hasn't driven me over the edge yet." Seigyoku rolled her eyes. "Did Komoura call you?" Yami asked, wanted to change the subject.

"Yes!" Seigyoku said, hugging Kiwi so tightly he meowed. "I'm so excited!" she continued. "Can you imagine how cute Seimei will look? Oh, and she asked Samara and I to be her bride's maids!" Yami smiled at his wife.

"Seimei agreed to do it?" he asked. Seigyoku nodded. "Both kids know?"

"Yeah," Seigyoku said, her expression changing to worry. "But Yugi seemed disappointed about it." Yami looked at her curiously. Yugi loved Joey so much, why would he be so unhappy, if Joey was getting married?

"I'll go talk to him," Yami said. He put his soda down and headed upstairs. He knocked on Yugi's door. "Son," he called. He heard the door click as Yugi unlocked it, then opened it briefly and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"What is it dad?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"How's your room going?" Yami asked. About four months ago, on Yugi's birthday, Yami had given Yugi two thousand dollars to remodel his room anyway he wanted to. He even promised Yugi he wouldn't go in until it was done.

"Making progress," Yugi answered Yami nodded.

"Listen," he started. "Your mother—."

"Mom's dead!" Yugi interrupted angrily. A glare appeared on his face and he clinched his fists as he uncrossed his arms. Yami sighed.

"I'm sorry Yugi," he said gently. "Seigyoku told me that you were disappointed to hear about Joey getting married."

"So?" Yugi said.

"Why would you be disappointed about something like that?" Yami gently moved Yugi's bangs out of his face as he hesitated to answer.

"Marriage changes people," he muttered.

"To an extent, yes." Yami explained. "But Joey's not going to stop loving you. He'll still spend time with you."

"Not as much…" Yugi mumbled. Yami frowned then gently kissed him on the forehead.

"You'll see," Yami said. "Everything will be fine." He smiled at his son.

"Whatever," Yugi said, turning back to his room. Yami playfully grabbed Yugi's wrist and pulled him into a hug. "Dad!"

"What?" Yami mimicked his son's tone. He chuckled as Yugi rolled his eyes. "I love you," he told Yugi before releasing him.

"I know," Yugi said as he went back into his room. Yami smiled as he headed downstairs.

XXXX

Soon dinner was ready and they all ate. Later that night, Yami stood in front of his bedroom window, looking into the night sky…just thinking…Seigyoku was taking a shower and the kids had gone to bed.

"Daddy?" a small voice said, pulling Yami out of his thoughts. He turned and saw Seimei, in her pajamas, in the doorway.

"Hey," he said smiling.

"Will you come tuck me in?" she asked innocently. Yami smiled and nodded. He walked over to her and picked her up. He took her back to her room and turned on the light as they entered.

Seimei's room was painted lavender with pictures of butterflies and flowers everywhere. The ceiling was a painted a light blue with white, fluffy clouds and a deep green carpet.

Yami put Seimei in her bed and pulled the cover to her shoulders. "Night daddy," she said giving him a hug.

"Night," Yami replied, hugging her back. Yami kissed her on the forehead, then turned to leave, turning off the light as he left. He headed back to his room and saw Seigyoku sitting on their bed, brushing her hair. Yami smiled and walked over to her. He hugged her around the waist. She giggled. "Thanks," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked.

"Our daughter." He kissed her softly. They went to bed soon after.

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Uhm….yeah I know, lame chapter….nothing happened. This is kinda like a prologue I guess….The next chapter will be kinda boring too….then again if you read the last story you kinda know how this one will be. So just leave some reviews, no flames (my self esteem is low enough). Uhm…feel free to check out my other stories; I hope you enjoy those as well! BYE FOR NOW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Upgrade**

Seigyoku sighed as she flipped through the mail. She had just picked up the kids from school and she was debating whether or not to serve leftovers or cook something new for dinner. She had taken the mail from their mailbox as she had walked in. Now, as she sat there, flipping through it, she hoped she would get something other than bills….However; a letter from the Junior High wasn't what she wanted.

XXXX

Yami typed furiously at the computer. He wanted to get these documents done so he could sleep easier tonight. His office phone rang; he grabbed it, supporting it with his shoulder so he could continue typing. "Hello?"

"You busy?" Seigyoku asked.

"Sorta," Yami answered. "But nothing I can't multitask with. Why?"

"I got a letter from Yugi's school," she said. Yami said nothing. "And Yugi's principal is on the other line." She paused. "You wanna three-way?"

"Yeah," Yami agreed. He heard a beep. "Hello?"

"Mr. Mouto?" a male voice asked.

"We're both here," Seigyoku answered.

"Alright," the male voice said. "Mr. and Mrs. Mouto, my name is Mr. Tanaka; I'm Yugi's principal." Yami and Seigyoku remained silent. "I called because I was wondering if we could set up a meeting, to discuss Yugi."

"When?" Seigyoku asked.

"As soon as possible," Mr. Tanaka answered.

"How's tomorrow?" Yami asked. "At one o'clock?"

"That's fine," he agreed.

"What's wrong?" Seigyoku asked.

"I want to discuss Yugi's social issues and his grades." Mr. Tanaka explained. There was a pause. "See you two tomorrow then." They said their goodbyes and Mr. Tanaka hung up.

"What the hell?" Yami asked Seigyoku, whispering into the phone.

"I don't know!" she answered defensively. Yami sighed and they both were silent.

"I'll talk to Yugi," Yami said. Seigyoku said nothing. "I love you,"

"Love you too," Seigyoku said with a sigh. They hung up. Yami slammed his head down on his desk.

XXXX

Seigyoku hung up the phone and sighed. As she did so, Yugi walked into the kitchen for a snack. She watched him

"What?" he asked, noticing her staring. She shook her head. Yugi gave her a weird look. He grabbed a soda and a small bag of chips, then headed back to his room. Seigyoku sighed again. She hoped that 3:25 would turn to 5:00 quickly.

XXXX

Yami pulled into the driveway and quickly gathered his things. As he headed inside, he tossed his stuff onto the couch and headed to Yugi's room. Seigyoku saw how angry he was as he went up the stairs. She didn't feel sorry for Yugi one bit. She had been telling Yami that he needed to be stricter with Yugi, since his attitude was only becoming worse. At first, Seigyoku had thought she was the problem…but after much reassurance from Yami, that thought was quickly dismissed. Meanwhile, Yami had been giving Yugi mild scolding and multiple groundings, which never seemed to work anyways. This time, however, she hoped that Yami would set Yugi straight.

XXXX

Yami knocked on Yugi's door and waited impatiently for him to answer. "What?" Yugi asked as he stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him. He fell silent when he saw his father's stern glare.

"What the hell is going on in school?!" Yami asked him, not hiding his anger.

"Nothing," Yugi was both confused and insulted. "Why?"

"I got a call from your principal," Yami replied. Yugi said nothing. "He said he wanted to discuss your grades and your social issues." Yugi remained silent. Yami's anger rose. "Well?!"

"I don't know okay?!" Yugi shouted back.

"No, it's not 'okay'!" Yami yelled. "Why would he call if there was nothing wrong?!"

"I don't know!"

XXXX

Seigyoku listened intently as she cooked supper. She wondered if Yami would really step up to the plate this time. She quietly stepped closer to the stairway.

"Mommy…" a soft voice called. Seigyoku turned and saw Seimei come out from behind the couch. "What's wrong with daddy?" Seigyoku sighed as she kneeled down and held out her arms. Seimei quickly stepped into the hug.

"Daddy's upset with Yugi." Seigyoku explained, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "He's getting into trouble at school."

"Why?" Seimei asked, looking up at her mother.

"That's what we're trying to find out." She smiled and gently picked her up. "How about you come help me in the kitchen?"

"Okay," Seimei smiled weakly. Seigyoku smiled comfortingly. She walked back into the kitchen and let her stir some of the pasta. Soon, Yami came back downstairs looking more aggravated than ever. Seigyoku walked over to him so they could whisper.

"He said he has no idea what's going on." Yami explained.

"What?" Seigyoku whispered. "How can he be in trouble and not know about it?" Yami shrugged. He sighed heavily.

"I grounded him until further notice or until he tells me the truth." he said. "He'll eventually come out with it."

"Hopefully," Seigyoku said with a sigh. Yami nodded in response. He noticed Seimei stirring supper. He smiled and snuck up behind her.

"What are you doing?" Yami said suddenly, hugging her. Seimei laughed.

"I'm helping Mommy!" she said proudly.

"You are?" Yami said, sounded surprised. Seigyoku smiled, watching them.

XXXX

Yugi slammed his door shut. The hate was building inside of him. He couldn't believe his dad didn't trust his own son, of all the people in the house! _"Seigyoku had something to do with this!"_ Yugi thought. Sighing, he looked at his room. With two thousand dollars, Yugi had turned his room into a gothic nightmare. His carpet, walls, and window's glass were a crimson red. Everything else, however, was black; from Yugi's bed sheets, pillows, bed curtains, and window curtains. As for his bathroom, he had retiled the floor with red tiles and his shower curtain was black. Everything else in his bathroom was a dark grey.

Yugi smiled at his room; he was very proud of it. Best of all, he still had five hundred dollars left. The truth was, Yugi had been done with his room for a week. He just didn't want to show his dad because he was afraid he'd make him take it all apart. Sighing again, Yugi walked over to his bed, got on his knees, and looked under it. He had tons of books under his bed, most of them contained spells and potions. He grabbed one and searched for a stress reliever.

XXXX

Yami sighed as he sat down at the table. "What am I going to do with him?" Yami asked no one in particular.

"Military School?" Seigyoku suggested with a hopeful smile. Yami glared at her. She rolled her eyes. "If you would just punish him properly." she mumbled. Yami's glare only deepened. Though, he was sure it was obvious, Yami was afraid, in a sense, to punish Yugi. Yami had been an abused child and never really learned exactly what proper punishment was. Although, Seigyoku had given him some ideas, he still never totally grasped the knowledge. Yami had thought about letting Seigyoku punish Yugi, but he hated her enough already. Yami's glare faded into a saddened gaze as there thoughts ran through his mind. Seigyoku frowned as Yami's facade change. She knew what he was thinking. She did wish Yami would tighten Yugi leash, so to speak, but she still had to keep in mind Yami's slight phobia. Thus, whenever this conversation came up, Seigyoku always felt like the bad guy at the end. She sighed.

"Sorry," she said turning around to face him.

"Don't be," Yami said softly. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. They stayed like that for a while. "We'll figure something out." Yami said, breaking the silence. Seigyoku nodded and smiled weakly. They kissed briefly.

"Dinner's ready," she said softly. Yami nodded. He walked out of the kitchen and to the base of the stairs.

"Kids!" he called. "Dinner!"

XXXX

Yugi heard his father's call and glared at the door. _"Damn,"_ Yugi thought. _"Whenever I get close, someone interrupts."_ He stood and headed for the door.

"_Eat well…."_

"Yugi smiled; finally he was getting somewhere….

XXXX

Yami was about to call Yugi's name, when he saw him appear at the top of the stairs. Guessing Yugi was still mad, Yami avoided his eyes. He heard Yugi footsteps as he went down the stairs and as he began to pass him. "Yugi," Yami said, looking at him. Yugi turned to his dad, a glare present on his face. "Son," Yami started again. "You know I love,"

"Whatever," Yugi said, continuing into the kitchen. Yami sighed and followed him. When Seimei saw Yugi, she called his name and raised her hands, wanting a hug. Yugi casually ignored her. She frowned for a second, then saw Yami and smiled. He smiled at her and hugged her as he picked her up.

"Love you daddy,"

"Love you too." Yami answered with a smile. The family then sat down and ate their dinner. There was little conversation, which was normal. After dinner, the usual schedule continued.

XXXX

The next morning, everyone continued normally. When Yami dropped Yugi off at school, he said "See you later." Yugi didn't answer. Yami sighed and headed back home. He had called Seto last night and told him he wouldn't be going to work. When he arrived home, he sighed heavily as he sat on the couch, next to Seigyoku.

"You didn't have to take the whole day off." Seigyoku said as she turned the page of her magazine. Yami shrugged.

"I needed it." he said. Kiwi came trotting by and jumping into Yami's lap. He meowed loudly. Yami began to pet him, receiving loud purrs from the tabby. Yami channel surfed, hoping he could find something to watch other than soap operas. When one o'clock finally came, both headed for Yugi's school. During the drive, Seigyoku noticed Yami's fidgeting; he was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"You're over reacting," he said, when they were half way there. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Oh yes," Yami said, in a sarcastic tone. "The principal called for nothing." Seigyoku glared at him. She sighed.

"FYI," she said. "The mom is supposed to worry." Yami said nothing. They fell silent.

"Sexist," he mumbled.

"Worry-wart," Seigyoku's tone was a little louder than his. He rolled his eyes. "Saw that," she sang teasingly.

"You're supposed to scold the kids, not me!" he replied defensively.

"But," Seigyoku started. "The kid's driving the car." She smiled widely as Yami made a face.

"I hate you," he joked.

"The feeling is mutual." Seigyoku giggled. Soon, they arrived at the Jr. High and headed for the principal's office. When they entered, Yugi was already there. Yami could tell he was still pissed off. He and Seigyoku sat down as Mr. Tanaka greeted them.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

"Sure," Yami said.

"So what's the problem?" Seigyoku asked.

"Well," Mr. Tanaka explained. "Yugi's teachers are just a bit concerned because he doesn't associate with his classmates."

"I don't work with morons," Yugi stated. Everyone looked at him.

"You think you're smarter than the others?" Mr. Tanaka asked politely.

"I know I am," Yugi answered.

"I agree," Mr. Tanaka said. Yami and Seigyoku became confused; Yugi gave him a suspicious look. "That's the other thing I wanted to discuss." He smiled. "Yugi has been making 4.0 or above on his report card since kindergarten." He flipped through Yugi's school profile. "That caused an interest in the school board. They want Yugi to take a test during the summer." He paused, looking back up at everyone. "If you, Yugi, score high enough on this test, you can skip several grades."

"Can I take it dad?" Yugi asked. Yami smiled and nodded.

"During the summer," Mr. Tanaka explained. "The school board will send you a letter with more information.

"Thank you so much," Yami said. Both men stood and shook hands.

"You should be very proud, Mr. Mouto." Mr. Tanaka concluded. Yami nodded. After they said goodbye, Yami Seigyoku, and Yugi exited the office.

"I'm so proud of you," Yami said, trying to give Yugi a hug. Yugi pushed him off, a fierce glare on his face. "Yugi," Yami started. "Last night I…"

"You didn't trust me…" Yugi looked away.

"I know," Yami agreed. "And I'm sorry." He paused for a moment. "I really am proud of you." He put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi looked at him. Yami smiled gently.

"Yugi!" someone called in a whisper. Yugi turned and saw his friend working at the front desk. He ran to him. Yami looked as well. They boy was about two years older than Yugi. He had dark skin and sand-colored hair. His deep indigo eyes held the same innocence Yugi's once held. Yami smiled as he and Seigyoku walked towards them. The two boys were already in conversation. Yami noticed this boy's gothic attire was similar to Yugi's own.

"Can I help you?" The boy asked politely, standing up straight.

"Relax," Yugi said. "They're my folks,"

"Oh," the boy replied. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Malik Ishtar." He held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Yami said, shaking his hand. "Do you work here?"

"Sorta," Malik answered. "It's really community service. I'm from the high school and after lunch, I come here to help out. Then my dad picks me up when school's out. The counselor said it would look good on my college application."

"I see," Yami said.

"Nice meeting you, Malik." Seigyoku said as they turned to leave.

"See you at home, Yugi." Yami said. They walked off. When they were gone, the boys began to whisper.

"How's it going?" Malik asked excitedly?

"I'm so close," Yugi said. "And I heard a whisper two nights ago!" Malik smiled, his evil look appearing.

"This is gonna be awesome!"

"I know," Yugi agreed. "I can't wait until the new moon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Secret**

When Yugi arrived home, to his surprise, Seto and Joey were there too. Joey greeted him with a hug. "There's my main man!" Joey said. Not to Yugi's surprise, Joey picked him up.

"Careful Joey," Yami said as he walked into the living room. He smiled at Yugi.

"I'm fine," Joey said. "You don't feed him so he's not heavy." Yugi laughed as Yami rolled his eyes. Joey put Yugi down and Seto came over to him.

"We're so proud of you," He hugged Yugi tightly. Yugi hugged him back. Yugi joked around with his family friends, until Seimei came running over to them.

"Big brother!" she said excitedly. She raised her arms, wanting to be picked up.

"Don't call me that," he said firmly. He began to walk towards the kitchen.

"Yugi," Yami warned sternly as he picked up Seimei. It wasn't the first time Yugi had done that. He had disowned Seimei since she had been born.

XXXX

Seigyoku, Komoura, and Samara looked at Yugi as he entered the kitchen. He smiled weakly. Seigyoku and Komoura were preparing dinner, which Samara was trying to feed Noah.

"C'mon sweetie," Samara pleaded with her son. "You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"No…" Noah said, putting his head down on his highchair table. Samara sighed hopelessly. Yugi knew about Noah's immune system and how it drove Samara and Seto crazy. Quite often, Seto and Samara fought about how to help Noah. Yugi could definitely see those two getting a divorce. As he strolled by, Noah turned to him and said "Daddy?" He was hoping to see Seto. When he saw Yugi, his saddened gaze returned.

"Do you want daddy to feed you?" Samara asked. Yugi could tell she was tired.

"No…" Noah repeated. At eighteen months, Noah's main vocabulary consisted of 'no', 'yes', and mostly parental names. However, Noah wasn't behind, he was actually ahead for his age. He was just too tired and aggravated from all the sicknesses to show it. By this time, the men were walked into the kitchen. "Daddy?" he whispered.

"Hey son," Seto greeted with a smile. Noah smiled tiredly. Seto picked him up and Noah rested his head on Seto's shoulder. "Tired?"

"Yes," Noah answered in a whisper. Seto gently swayed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, causing a rocking motion. Noah closed his eyes, waiting to fall asleep. Samara sighed and saved up Noah's uneaten food. Seto gave her a sympathetic smile. Ignoring her husband, she turned to Yugi and smiled.

"Congrats," she said, smiling through her tired features. Yugi smiled as a thank you.

"Dinner's ready guys," Seigyoku announced. Everyone took a seat at the table. Seto kept Noah in his hold even as he sat down. Everyone fixed their plate and continued with mild conversation.

"So are you nervous?" Joey asked.

"About what?" Yugi asked.

"Skipping grades," Seto answered. "If you skip two you'll be a junior in high school." Yugi shrugged.

"It's just another grade," Yugi replied. Yami smiled at him. The phone began to ring. Yami got up and answered.

"Hello? Just a moment," He turned to Yugi. "Yugi, it's for you." Yugi got up and took the pone. Yami sat back down.

"Hello? Oh hey," Yugi said. It was a normal conversation, until Yugi began to speak in a different language. Everyone turned and looked at him. He talked for about thirty minutes then sat back down.

"What was that?" Yami asked.

"A phone call," Yugi answered.

"The language," Yami said, with a slight tone. Yugi hesitated to answer.

"Latin," he finally said.

"Where did you learn that?" Joey asked.

"School," Yugi replied. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Who was your friend?" Seto asked.

"Malik," Yugi said.

"He works at Yugi's school in the office," Seigyoku added. At the same time, Yugi finished his plate and put it in the sink. Afterward, he headed upstairs.

"Hey Yugi," Joey said, standing up. "How about you show us your room?" Yugi froze, panic traveling through him. He slowly turned to them.

"I'm not done yet…" He managed to say.

"Well, let's just see what you have," Seto said, holding onto Noah as he stood up. Yami stood as well and the adult males headed for the stairs. Yugi knew he had to think of something fast. His heart pounded inside his head and breathing became difficult.

"Dad!" he chocked out, once the group reached him. Yami blinked, looking at his son. Yugi did his best to look pathetic. "You promised," he said sadly. It must have worked because Yami's faced softened. He smiled gently and nodded. Yugi smiled childishly and gave his father a quick hug, then headed upstairs.

XXXX

"You promised?" Samara asked as they walked back in. She, Seigyoku, and Komoura were cleaning up the kitchen.

"Yeah," Yami said. "Promised him I would go into his room until he was done."

"How long has it been?" Komoura asked.

"Four months," Seigyoku answered with a disapproving tone.

"Well, shouldn't he be done by now?" Joey asked gently.

"He probably didn't do anything to his room," Seigyoku voice grew harsher. "He probably bought drugs or something like that," Yami glared at her. He was about to speak, but she spoke up again. "Don't give me that look!" she said. "He's thirteen and you know, as well as I do, that certain things start running through his little mind." She turned back to washing the dishes. "And a little slap on the wrist every now and then won't stop those thoughts from becoming actions." Samara and Komoura began to help her.

"Sei," Samara said. "Yugi doesn't seem like that type of kid…"

"You don't live with him," Seigyoku countered.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Yami asked, his tone matching his wife's.

"Beat his ass," she said simply.

"At thirteen?" Joey emphasized Yugi's age. Yami looked at Seto, waiting for his opinion.

"I don't support physical punishment," He answered, increasing his hold on Noah.

"It's not going to kill him," Seigyoku continued. "And he can't stay pissed off forever." Yami said nothing. "Weren't you spanked as a kid?"

"Yeah, but―!" Yami stuttered.

"It's the same damn concept!" she interrupted. Silence consumed the kitchen again as Yami fell into his thoughts. "Yami," she started again. "Just promise me you'll do it next time, and if it doesn't work, you never have to do it again." Yami looked at her. "Please,"

"Fine," he said, reluctance present. He sighed softly; hopefully this wouldn't be something he'd regret.

XXXX

Seimei swallowed nervously as she quietly headed upstairs. She hoped Yugi would get in anymore trouble….She wanted all the fighting to stop. She went to her room and tried to busy herself.

XXXX

Yugi sighed as he shut the door. _"That was close,"_ he thought as she opened his eyes to his gothic room. A smile spread across his face as he walked over to his bed and laid down. He pulled on the braided red string, making his bed curtains close. _"I wonder if the_ _meeting will go off as planned,"_ Yugi thought. _"Malik and I need to start."_

XXXX

"Later dad," Yugi said as he got out of the car and headed for school. He walked towards the doors, until he heard Yami dive off, then he ran down the street to the park. _"One day won't kill me," _Yugi thought. He stopped under a tall oak tree, panting slightly. He looked at his watch. _"Just a few more minutes…"_

"Hi Yugi!" Malik said cheerfully as he came out from behind the tree. Yugi smiled. "Great idea to skip school," he said as they sat down.

"I know," Yugi said with a chuckle. He took a red book out his backpack and opened it to the desired page.

"So," Malik said, scooting closer to Yugi to look at the book as well. "Are we close?"

"Yeah," Yugi said, turning to him. "All we need is some candles and 'a desired item'." He smiled.

"This is going to be so exciting." he complimented. "Did you talk to your dad? Mine said yes," Yugi shook his head, looking at the ground nervously. Malik smiled comfortingly. "It's okay Yugi," he said. "I'm nervous too, but I'm sure our dads will be okay with it." Yugi smiled weakly.

"You're right," Yugi said, smiling wider. "I shouldn't worry. And if they don't approve, who cares! Right?" Malik nodded. After reading into the book a bit, they got hungry and went to a small fast-food restaurant.

"I'm surprised no one's asking questions," Malik said, looking around nervously as he took a sip of his soda.

"Because they don't care," Yugi stated. Malik said nothing. Yugi could see that he was still nervous. "Will you get in trouble?" he asked gently. Malik nodded, not wanting to explain. "Yeah," Yugi said. "If my dad finds out, I'll be grounded fro the rest of the year." Yugi and Malik sighed.

"Let's go to the library," Malik suggested. "Not a lot of people go there." Yugi agreed and they headed off. They library was more Up-Town and, as they made their way, the received more and more stares from the crowd, due to their gothic attires.

"This is why I hate Up-Town," Yugi said, glaring at the sidewalk. "If you don't look like a clone, everyone stares at you."

"Wanna make them freak out?" Malik asked with a smile. Catching on, Yugi shook his head.

"Seto knows too many people," Yugi said, feeling bed. Malik just smiled at him.

"It's okay," he said. "Dad knows a whole crowd too," They smiled at each other. Making it to the library, the hung out until it was three o'clock. They rushed back to school and continued their normal lives.

"How was school?" Seigyoku asked as he got in the car.

"Normal," Yugi answered. Seigyoku nodded and drove off.

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Hmm…I guess people don't like this story too much….Oh well, it's for a friend anyways. Well I just want to apologize to all who are reading this for my delayed updates. I'm having problems uploading on documents on and I don't know why….I'm sure the admin is updating the site or something. I just hope they hurry up…


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Summoning**

"Hey dad," Yugi said as he washed the dishes.

"Hm?" Yami answered as he put the dried dishes away.

"Can I ask you something?" Yami chuckled. Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes, already knowing what his father was going to say. "Can I ask you two things?" Yami nodded, smiling. "Can a friend come over for dinner?" Yami turned to him. Yugi turned away, looking at the dishes.

"Who's this friend?" Yami asked curiously.

"Does Yugi have a girlfriend?" Seigyoku asked as she entered the kitchen, Kiwi in her arms. Yami looked at Yugi.

"Well?" he asked. Yugi looked at the floor nervously, then slowly nodded. Seigyoku let out a loud squeal and hugged Kiwi so tightly that he meowed. Yami and Yugi stared at her as if she had two heads.

"Oh Yugi!" she said excitedly. "That's so cute! I'm gonna cook a huge dinner! And we'll all dress up!" As she went on and on about her plans, Yami smiled at Yugi who was trying to hide his light blush. Yami put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi looked at his dad, then looked at the floor sadly. Yami blinked in confusion.

"I'll be alright," Yami whispered to him.

XXXX

"Are you for real?" Joey asked, gripping his phone excitedly.

"Yep," Yami said, talking with Joey and Seto on the phone. "He said he'd feel more comfortable if you guys were there."

"So what's the girl's name?" Seto asked.

"I don't know," Yami answered. "He didn't tell me and I don't want to pry. Yugi seems nervous enough." He turned and looked into the living room; Yugi was watching TV. "Guys," Yami started again. "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. He's not negative and he's smiling more and he talks to me….It's like he's five again." He smiled staring at Yugi. His friends smiled too.

"What's he doing now?" Joey asked.

"Watching TV,"

"Let us talk to him," Seto said. Yami put his hand over the phone.

"Yugi," he called. "Joey and Seto want to talk to you."

"Kay," Yugi said. He got up and walked into the kitchen. Yami handed him the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey my main man!" Joey greeted. Yugi giggled.

"Don't call him that," Seto scolded. "He's thirteen, not three."

"I know," Joey said. "I just want to know where the time went."

"Right out the window," Yugi answered simply.

"I'll believe that," Seto smiled.

"Well, can we turn back the clock?" Joey rubbed the back of his head.

"No," Yugi said with a giggle.

"Damn!" Joey said, disappointed.

"So Yugi," Seto picked up. "What are we suppose to wear?"

"I don't know," Yugi said. "Just look descent."

"Hear that Wheeler? Get a new collar!"

"Fuck you," Joey answered. Yugi laughed as Seto scolded him. "He's hear it before!" Joey said defensively. "And he's smart enough not to use it, right?"

"Right,"

"Good," Seto said. "Because if you do, Joey and I will beat your ass, not just your dad."

"Hypocrite!" Joey shouted. "If I can't cuss, then you can't either!" Yugi laughed again. Seto and Joey smiled. "So," Joey continued. "What's this girl's name?"

"I can't tell you," Yugi said.

"Aw," Seto replied. "No fair."

"You're in the business world Seto," Yugi said. "You should know that life isn't fair."

"Burn!" Joey shouted. Yugi laughed again.

XXXX

After hanging up, Yugi went to his room. He took a shower and was about to go to bed, when there was a knock on his door. He got up and stepped outside.

"Yeah?" he said as he turned around. It was his dad.

"When do I get to see your room?" Yami asked, hugging his son. Yugi hugged him back.

"At the dinner party," Yugi answered. Yami looked at him.

"Really?" Yugi nodded.

"I wanted to wait until everyone came over,"

"How long have you been seeing this girl?" Yami changed the subject, seeing if he could get a bit more information.

"About two weeks," Yugi said. Yami smiled and kissed his son's forehead. Yugi smiled at him.

"I can't wait," he said. He gave Yugi one last hug. "Night son," He headed to his room and went to bed. Yugi did the same.

XXXX

Saturday night, Yugi sat nervously on the last stair, looking at the floor. Yami walked over to him and leaned on the stair rail. "What are you nervous about?" he asked gently.

"Everything," Yugi said softly. Yami smiled at him sympathetically.

"How can I help?" Yugi looked up and smiled evilly. Yami looked to see what he was smiling at; Seimei was sitting on the floor, in a cute light green dress, playing. Yami glared at Yugi. "You better dismiss all evil thoughts, right now." Yugi smiled and glare disappeared once he heard his father's stern tone. He looked at the floor again. Yami became sympathetic again. "Relax son," he said, placing his hand on his shoulder. Joey and Seto walked over to them.

"Don't worry," Joey said. "We won't embarrass you." Yugi smiled weakly. "We'll just tell stories of your absolutely, too cute life!" Yugi groaned and buried his face in his heads. The three men laughed lightly at the teen. Seto kneeled down to Yugi's level.

"I promise he won't do anything," he assured. "I'll watch him myself." Seto smiled. Yugi smiled as well.

"You guys, quit stressing him out!" Komoura shouted as she came out of the kitchen. All the males jumped and stared at her. The door bell rang; Yugi's heart leaped into his throat as Yami answered the door.

XXXX

Yami opened the door and smiled at the man before him. He had dark skin and deep sand-colored hair that was tied back. His purple eyes were intimidating and, at first glance, he seemed like a perfect gentlemen.

"Mr. Mouto, it's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled and held out his hand.

"Please, the pleasure's all mine," Yami shook his hand. He stepped aside and allowed the man to walk in. He closed the door behind him.

"Where's your daughter?" the man asked. Yami blinked, confused.

"That's my daughter," Yami said, nodding towards Seimei. The man's eyes narrowed in the same confusion.

"Hi Yugi," a familiar voice greeted. Both father's turned and saw Malik and Yugi talking with each other. "It's nice to see you again Mr. Mouto," Malik greeted. "This is my dad, Marik Ishtar."

Yami couldn't speak; Marik was in the same state. Didn't Yugi tell him a **girlfriend** was coming over? Yami realized that had stopped breathing. "Hello," he managed to choke out. Yugi looked at the floor nervously; he wanted nothing more than to disappear into thin air. "Yugi," Yami said, bringing him back to reality. "Why don't you go show Malik your room? The rest of us will catch up." Yugi nodded and Malik followed him up the stairs. Seigyoku, who had been standing in the kitchen doorway with Komoura and Samara, was also in slight shock.

"Seimei," she said. "Why don't you go to your room for a minute?" Although she was confused, Seimei quickly obeyed her mother. The adults were alone now.

"This can not be happening." Marik said, bringing his hand to his forehead.

"Mr. Ishtar please," Yami said. "I'm sure this is just a phase or something." Marik huffed.

"You obviously aren't Catholic," Yami's back stiffened.

"Yes I am, actually." He and Malik locked eyes, their glares equal.

"Let's not bring religion into this," Seigyoku said, stepping forward. "That will only hurt them."

"She's right," Yami said. Marik's glare deepened; Yami wasn't affected. "Let's just continue the dinner, as planned, then we'll take care of our sons as we see fit." Marik hesitated.

"Fine," he said. All the adults were silent. Marik glanced at Joey.

"Joey Wheeler," he greeted. "Friends by blood, brothers by nature." He put his arm around Komoura. "This is my finance, Komoura." She smiled. Marik's gaze shifted to Seto.

"Seto Kaiba," he greeted, holding out his hand. Marik shook it, just to be polite. "This is my wife, Samara," She smiled as a greeting. Despite the awkward greetings, everyone was doing their best to make this as normal as possible.

XXXX

"Your room is kick ass!" Malik said, looking around. Yugi giggled.

"Thanks, my dad hasn't seen it yet." He paused. "I'm scared he'll make me tear it down." Malik just smiled at him.

"Your dad's crazy if he makes you tear it down." he said. Yugi laughed. "We better get started." Yugi nodded. He reached under his bed and pulled out a piece of cardboard with a weird circle painted on it. The circle had other geometrical shapes within it. Malik grabbed a black book and opened it to the circle's image, making sure it was correct. Yugi laid the circle in the middle of the room and put the candles around it. He sat on one side and Malik sat across from him. "What did you bring?" Malik asked. Yugi held up a silver diamond ring.

"It was my mom's," Yugi explained. "Dad doesn't know I have it." He stared at it for a few seconds. Sighing, he put it in the middle of the circle. Then, he and Malik held hands and closed their eyes…

XXXX

"So," Marik said. "Where are they?"

"Upstairs," Yami answered, turning towards the stairs. "In Yugi's room." Suddenly the house began to shake as if it was in the middle of an earthquake. Everyone tried to grab something to hang onto. As soon as it had started, it stopped. The adults looked around in confusion. Yami noticed that, strangely, nothing had fallen from the shelves.

"What the hell?!" Joey asked. Komoura fearfully held onto him. He put his arm around her.

"Seimei!" Seigyoku called worriedly. She ran upstairs; the other adults quickly followed. Seimei was standing in the hallway, shaking.

"Mommy…" she whispered. Seigyoku quickly took the young girl into her arms.

"It's okay," Seigyoku whispered, running her fingers through Seimei's hair and rubbing her back. "Mommy's here."

"What happened?" Seimei asked, looking at her mother.

"We don't know sweetie…" Seigyoku answered.

"Yugi!" Yami shouted as he ran to Yugi's door, Marik close behind him. He turned the door knob and found it locked. "Yugi!" he called again, pounding on the door. He heard a click and sighed in relief when Yugi opened the door.

"Something wrong dad?" he asked.

"You didn't feel that?" Joey asked, joining them. Yugi shook his head. Yami sighed again, but forced himself to smile.

"So," he said. "Let's see your room." Yugi nodded and stepped aside. The adults stepped inside and looked around. Seigyoku put Seimei down once they entered the room. Joey let out an amazed whistle.

"Like it…dad?" Yugi asked nervously.

"Your dad's crazy if he makes you tear it down!" Malik said excitedly as he came out of the bathroom. He froze when he saw Yami. "And he's standing right there," Malik rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Mr. Mouto." Yami only chuckled.

"You alright?" Marik asked as he walked over to his son.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. Marik glared at him. "I mean, yes sir."

"It's very nice Yugi," Samara said. Yugi smiled

"Yeah," Komoura agreed. "The colors really match…"

"Dad," Yugi said. Yami looked at him. "Is it okay?" Yami smiled and nodded.

"You have to look at it everyday, not me." he said jokingly. Yugi smiled and hugged him.

"C'mon guys," Seigyoku said. "Dinner's getting cold." They headed downstairs; Yugi and Malik stayed behind for a moment."

"Your dad seems…" Yugi trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Strict?" Malik finished. Yugi nodded, feeling bad. Malik just smiled. They quickly caught up with the adults and sat down at the table.

"So what do you do for a living, Mr. Ishtar?" Seto asked, trying to start conversation.

"I run the local hospital," he answered.

"So you're a doctor?" Seigyoku asked.

"I'll sign in if the staff isn't pulling their weight." He took a sip of his drink. A glare came upon his face when he saw Malik and Yugi in a whispered conversation. He'd have to take care of him later…

XXXX

"Thank you for inviting us," Marik said, as he and Malik were leaving. Yami smiled and nodded in response.

"Bye Yugi," Malik whispered. When he was sure his dad wasn't looking, he quickly kissed Yugi on the cheek. Yugi blushed a deep red. Malik giggled and caught up with his dad. When everyone was gone, Yami sighed heavily and sat on the sofa. Yugi leaned on the wall next to the stairs. The poor teen wanted to explode. He wanted to know how everyone felt about him now. Did they all still look at him same way? Were they going to disown him? Yugi began to shake violently as his thoughts filled with terrible consequences. Seigyoku noticed this and tapped Yami on the shoulder to point it out to him. Yami blinked, puzzled and quickly got up and went to Yugi.

"It's okay son," he whispered, hugging him tightly. Yugi buried his face into Yami's chest.

"Dad…" he choked out.

"Shh," Yami said comfortingly. "It's alright."

"I was scared…" Yugi whispered.

"You had nothing to be scared of," Yami explained comfortingly. "I will always love you; Joey and Seto will too. Nothing will change that." Yami gently kissed his son's forehead. Yugi held onto his father tightly, fighting the on-coming sobs.

XXXX

Malik happily looked out the window of his father's purple Lamborghini as they drove home. He was glad everything had gone so well; no one had freaked out or anything like he suspected. His smile faded, however, when crashing thunder filled the skies. He and his father looked up as the rain began to pour heavily. Marik cursed under his breath.

When they reached their home, Marik opened the door and let his son go in ahead of him. He eyed him closely as he walked in himself. He put the keys on the kitchen counter as Malik entered the living room.

"Hey dad?" he said.

"Hm?" Marik said as he walked over to his son. Malik turned and faced him.

"Thanks for not―!" He was cut off by his father striking him. The force sent Malik to the floor.

"For not neglecting my duties to punish you?" Marik asked. Malik slowly got up and sat on his knees, his hand on his burning cheek. Marik grabbed his son's hair and pulled it until Malik's gaze was on him. "If I catch you with that boy again, I'll beat the fag out of you. Understand?!"

"Yes sir," Malik answered, holding back his tears. Marik released him and turned his back to him.

"Go to your room," he commanded. Marik did so without a word.

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Another "setting-the-scene" chapter. I know…my stories are usually slow…You have to be patient. The next chapter will be a bit more exciting…sorta…I hope…uhm…yeah…review please.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Demonic Stare**

"Yugi," Yami whispered, shaking his son gently to wake him. "Yugi, wake up." Yugi tiredly opened his eyes. "It's time for church." Yugi slowly sat up in bed. Yami noticed that Yugi's face was red; he assumed that Yugi had cried himself to sleep last night. Giving his son a loving smile, Yami hugged him. Yugi, in return, slowly wrapped his arms around his father. "Love you," Yami reminded him. Yami smiled before he left. Yugi dragged him out of bed and into the shower. Afterwards, he dressed in his good clothes and headed downstairs. Everyone was dressed in good clothes; Seigyoku was cooking breakfast while Yami and Seimei were already eating.

"Morning big brother!" Seimei greeted when she noticed him. Yugi gave no reply as he tiredly sat down at the table. Seigyoku giggled.

"Poor Yugi," she said. "He's just so tired." She gave him some breakfast and gently patted him on the back. Yugi gave her half a smile as he began to eat.

XXXX

Yugi forced himself to stay awake on the drive to church. He had an even harder time doing so when they arrived. Yami noticed his son having a hard time staying awake.

"Are you okay?" he asked as they took their seats in the back.

"Yeah," Yugi answered, rubbing his eyes again. Yami gave him a concerned look, then faced forward. The preacher took the front and began speaking. Yugi began to daydream, his eyes trailing to the cross hanging above the preacher's head. He stared at it, for no particular reason; it twitched. Yugi blinked and shook his head. _"There's no way that was for real!"_ he thought. He looked at it again, focusing on it. This time, the cross began to shake. I came lose and fell to the floor, missing the preacher by inches. The crowd gasped. The preacher picked up the pieces it had broken into.

"Not to worry," he said. "We'll get a new one." He put the pieces on a nearby table and continued. Yugi was still in slight shock. He wondered if he really did that or it was just a coincidence. He decided to try it on something else; the church doors. He looked over his shoulder and stared at them, the same way he had with the cross. The doors began to shake and rattle. Everyone turned to the noise, whispering to one another. The doors burst open with a powerful gust of wind. A few screams and an ocean of cries were heard, over the preached telling the two church boys to close the doors. They quickly obeyed. The doors were soon closed and the preacher called everyone's attention back. Yugi couldn't help but smile; this was going to be fun…

XXXX

"Mr. Mouto," the preacher called to Yami as they began to leave. They all stopped and turned.

"Yes, Father?" Yami asked.

"Your son; he's thirteen right?" the preacher asked, smiling at Yugi.

"Yes," Yami answered.

"Well," the preacher continued. "I was wondering if you were interested in baptizing him."

"Baptizing?" Yami asked. The preacher nodded.

"I have records of Seimei's baptism, but not Yugi's." Yami looked at the floor.

"I wasn't in faith when Yugi was born," Yami said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Not a problem," the preacher said with a smile. "Would you like to set a date?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Yami smiled. The preacher did too.

"That's good to hear." They set up a meeting and Yami left with his family.

XXXX

"You did what?!" Yugi shouted as his dad drove home.

"It's not that big of a deal," Yami said, after explaining his conversation with the preacher.

"Yes it is!" Yugi said. "You're robbing me of an afternoon!"

"Oh Yugi," Seigyoku said. "It's just a short dip and prayer, then we're gone."

"Yugi's going swimming?" Seimei asked innocently.

"Daddy's gonna drown big brother," Yugi said, mimicking Seimei's use of words with his own sarcastic saying. Seimei looked at her father with fearful eyes.

"Yugi," Yami warned sternly. Yugi crossed his arms and glared out the window.

When they arrived home, Yugi rain straight upstairs to his room. He ignored his father's calls telling him to come back. Yami quickly followed him. He was about to open Yugi's door, when he heard him talking; instead he gently pushed the door open until he was able to peer inside. Yugi was talking on his cell phone, probably with Malik, but Yami wasn't sure.

XXXX

"He's not cool with it!" Yugi yelled into his cell phone.

"How do you know?" Malik asked.

"Because," Yugi said. "He's getting me baptized." Yugi sat down on his bed.

"For real?" Malik sat up from lying on his stomach.

"Yeah," Yugi crossed his legs.

"I thought your dad was cool too." Malik's disappointment was obviously false.

"Same here," Yugi said. "How did you dad take it?" Malik fell silent.

"Not…well…" he finally answered.

"How bad?" Yugi was trying not to pry.

"Like, forbidden-to-see-you bad…" Malik fell silent. "But if he never sees us together, then we'll be okay." Yugi forced himself to smile.

"My lips are sealed," he said. Malik smiled as well.

"So what are you gonna do about your dad?" Malik asked.

"Get revenge," Yugi got off his bed, and onto his hands and knees.

"How?" Malik asked.

"By messing with his prized possession." He reached under his bed. Malik fell silent.

"Be careful," Malik warned.

"I will," Yugi promised. They said goodbye and hung up. Yugi tossed his cell phone onto the bed and pulled out a small box from under his bed. He put the box in his lap as he sat on the floor. Then, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a dog-tag necklace. The dog-tags were actually keys to the box; Yugi unlocked it and slowly lifted the cover. Inside were three dolls; a Yami-doll, a Seigyoku-doll, and a Seimei-doll. Next to the dolls were a few needles, a spool of black thread, and an ink bottle full of blood; Yugi's blood. Yugi picked up the doll that looked like Seimei and opened the bottle of blood. He took a needle and dipped the tip of it in blood. Then, he drew a thin line on the Seimei-doll's forehead, without cutting the fabric. He did the same thing to the doll's neck and chest. He blew softly on the damp areas until they were dry. Afterwards, he put the doll back in the back in the box, closed the ink bottle, cleaned the needle and closed the box. He locked it and put it back under the bed. He got up and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes. To anyone, he would appear to be sleeping.

XXXX

Yami remained quiet as Yugi got off his cell phone. He watched Yugi kneel in front of his bed and pulled something out from under it. Yami couldn't see what he was doing, since Yugi's back was to him. Whatever he was doing, he did it in about ten minutes. When he laid down on the bed, Yami decided to step in. He knocked as he entered. Yugi opened one eye and glared at him. Yami walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Son," he said. "I didn't mean to offend you. I just…" Yami trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to say it.

"You forced this on me," he said, turning away from Yami onto his side. "I never wanted this religion and I never waited Seigyoku or Seimei around. You did everything with me at the bottom of your list."

"That's not true," Yami said, his voice becoming firm. "You needed a mother and Seimei was a blessing for all of us."

"Not for me…" Yugi countered. "Everyone looks at her, then they only see the bad in me."

"That's not true, either." Yami said. "We all love you and Seimei equally. I'm very proud of you both." Yugi said nothing. Yami sighed and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "What do I have to do to make you feel comfortable at home?"

"Divorce Seigyoku," Yugi answered. Yami glared at him.

"Try again," Yami replied.

"Put Seimei up for adoption," Yugi answered with a smile.

"Anything that doesn't involve breaking up this family." Yami said. Yugi fell silent; he looked away in thought.

"I don't know…" he answered in a whisper. Yami began to feel sorry for Yugi. He got closer to his son and put his arm around him. "I like it better when it was just me and you." Yugi said. Yami said nothing. "When mom first died, you and I seemed closer."

"We can still be close Yugi," Yami said. "We could spend more time together." Yugi looked up at him with slight hope in his eyes. Yami smiled. "It'll be just me and you, this weekend. I promise."

"Really dad?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded and smiled. Yugi smiled as well. Yami gave him a quick hug.

"Just be good, okay?" Yami said. Yugi nodded. Yami ruffled Yugi's hair, making him giggle, and headed for the door.

"Dad," Yugi said, making him stop and turn around. "Thanks," Yami smiled and nodded.

XXXX

"So?" Seigyoku asked as Yami came into the kitchen. "How'd it go?" Yami blinked at her, confusion all over his face.

"How'd what go?" Yami asked. Seigyoku gave him a look, as if to shout 'DUH!'.

"The lecture!" Yami blinked. Seigyoku rolled her eyes.

"Oh," Yami said. "That." He paused. "It was normal."

"What's 'normal'?" Seigyoku asked. Yami shrugged.

"You know," he said. "Normal," Seigyoku glared at him.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" she asked.

"Nope,"

"Thought so," She sighed. Yami chuckled. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because," Yami grabbed a soda from the refrigerator.

"Because, why?" Seigyoku asked. Yami shrugged, opening his soda. "Quit acting like a child." Seigyoku commanded.

"You're the one that's whining," Yami pointed out.

"Well," Seigyoku said. "You're being mean!" Yami only smiled at her. "Dinner's ready," she said to simply change the conversation. Yami chuckled to himself as he walked to the stairs.

XXXX

Yugi remained on his bed, even after :Yami left. His thoughts went back to the church; he wondered if he could do that at home too. He started to look around his room, but changed his mind. He didn't want to destroy anything in his room, he'd wait till dinner.

"Kids!" he heard his father call. Yugi smiled. He got up and headed downstairs. When he arrived, Seigyoku was fixing Yami's plate, Yami was fixing Seimei a glass of milk' both of their backs to Seimei who was already eating at the table. Yugi smiled again. He stared at one of the legs on Seimei's chair.

"_Fall,"_ he thought. _"Break…"_ The chair's leg wobbled and wiggled. When Seimei looked down to see what it was, the leg snapped and she let out a short cry as she fell out of her chair. Yami and Seigyoku turned around quickly and rushed to their daughter. Yugi forced himself not to laugh.

"Seimei sweetie," Seigyoku said, trying to help her up. "Are you alright?" Yami tried to get Seimei to stand up, but she kept losing her balance and falling into either his or Seigyoku's hold. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital?" Seigyoku suggested.

"All she did was bump her head," Yami said. "And she's not bleeding." Seigyoku gave Yami an unsure look.

"Seimei," Seigyoku said. "Can you see clearly?" The young girl nodded.

"My head hurts," she said.

"I know," Seigyoku picked her up and hugged her gently. "But you can't go to sleep, okay?"

"Kay," Seimei answered. Yami got an ice pack from the freezer and gave it to Seigyoku. Seigyoku took it and put it gently on Seimei's forehead. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Yami sighed and looked at Yugi.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, forcing himself to smile. Yugi merely nodded. They sat down and had dinner together. Yami kept looking back into the living room, checking on his wife and daughter. When he was done eating, he asked Yugi to do the dishes. Yami got up and went sit in the living room, next to his wife. Yugi frowned, and glared at his dad as he began to wash the dishes.

XXXX

"Mommy," Seimei said. "My head hurts…"

"Still?" Seigyoku asked, surprised. She looked at Yami. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital."

"Yeah," Yami said, standing up. "Get in the car; I'll go get Yugi." He started to head upstairs as Seigyoku headed out the door. "Yugi!" Yami began to call as he reached Yugi's door. He knocked. "Yugi?"

"What?" Yugi shouted from inside his room.

"Come on out," He heard Yugi groan, then the door opened. "Let's go." Yami said.

"Where?" Yugi followed him down the stairs.

"To the hospital," Yami answered without turning around.

"Why?" Yugi asked. "All Seimei did was bump her head." They headed out the door and got in the care. Yami drove to the hospital and checked in. Yugi decided to wait in the waiting room. The nurse led Yami and Seigyoku to an available office. They waited for about thirty minutes, then they heard someone approaching.

"Sorry sir," one voice said.

"Don't be," another said. The door began to open. "Just tell him he's not getting a paid vacation." Marik Ishtar stepped in. He and Yami stared at each other.

"Nice to see you again," Yami greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Marik asked politely.

"My daughter hit her head," Yami answered.

"On what?" Marik walked over to the examination table that Seimei was on. He took out his pen-light from his coat.

"She, well, the chair broke and she fell off, hitting her forehead on another chair." Seigyoku explained. "She's been having a headache for over three hours." Marik shined the light into Seimei's eyes, checking her pupils.

"It hurts," she mumbled.

"The light?" Marik asked. Seimei shook her head.

"My head," she answered.

"Where?" Mark put his pen-light away.

"All over," she whimpered "It keeps getting worse…" Seigyoku gave her sympathetic hug.

"I thought you said she hit her forehead?" Marik asked.

"She did…" Seigyoku answered. She looked at Seimei confusingly. Marik's look became suspicious. He headed out the door to find a nurse.

"Nurse," they heard him say. "Schedule a MRI for her head."

"Yes sir," she said. A seat of footsteps walked away, and set came back. The nurse walked in and smiled at them. Suddenly, sirens going off and several running footsteps could be heard. The nurse quickly poked her head out the door.

"What happened?" they heard Marik ask.

"Major car accident sir," a male voice answered. The nurse closed the door as she sighed.

"Busy tonight," she said. A knock at the door made her open it again. Yugi and Komoura were standing there, both with shocked features. Komoura's dressy pink dress was covered in blood…

"What happened?" Yami asked, taking a step towards her.

"Joey's hurt…" she whispered.

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Okay, I'm not a religious person or doctor. So you guys will kinda help me out here. I know an MRI is a magnetic scan of human organs and the brain is an organ, so….I might have some questions about the Catholic religion later, because that's going to play a big part in later chapters. So, stick around and leave reviews! Love you guys!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Awaiting**

"What happened?" Yami asked. He, Yugi, and Komoura were now in the waiting area. Seigyoku had gone with Seimei to her MRI.

"Joey and I were on a date," Komoura began, her shocked features on the floor. "We were heading home when the truck…" She trailed off. Yami put his hand on her shoulder. He looked at Yugi, who was also in shock.

"It'll be okay," he said, speaking to both of them; neither answered. They heard a heavy sigh and looked up. Marik was approaching them. They all stood.

"I'll start with you," he said, turning to Komoura. "Mr. Wheeler has lost a lot of blood. However, the operation on his internal bleeding went smoothly. He had six stitches to the forehead and four more on his left forearm. The rest is nothing but minor cuts and bruises, also a twisted ankle. Nonetheless, he will recover." Komoura sighed in relief. Marik turned to Yami, his look becoming more serious. "Mr. Mouto," he said with a sigh. "Your daughter has an aneurism, which means she's bleeding internally from the brain. Normally, the operation is…so-so. We merely open up the skull, stitch the bleeding area, and close up." He paused.

"But?" Yami asked, tears quickly filling his eyes.

"But," Marik continued. "Your daughter aneurism is on the main artery that supplies blood to the brain. To fix it, we'll have to shut off her brain…and to do that; we'll have to stop her heart temporally." Yami's eyes widened in horror. "It's a very risky and her chances are low. Not to mention the operation is costly."

"What will happen to her if she doesn't get the operation?" Yami asked, only out of curiosity. Marik sighed again.

"She'll have constant headaches, neck pains, and possible upper-back problems, until she eventually dies. To which I would only give her about maybe two years, maybe even less because she's so young." Yami limply sat back down, his eyes still wide. Marik sighed sympathetically. "Your wife is in her room…" he said slowly. Yami got up and ran into the room they were in. Seimei was sleeping in the bed while Seigyoku was standing next to her, her hand on her mouth to block her sobs.

"Sei," Yami said, holding back his own sobs. She looked up him. They ran to each other, locking their arms around the other. Both cried softly for a few minutes.

"What are we gonna do?" Seigyoku choked out.

"We'll get her the operation," Yami said, hugging his wife tighter.

"How?" Seigyoku asked, rising from the embrace. "You make a great budget, but nothing that can pay for this."

"I'm sure Marik has some kind of payment plan," Yami said. He paused for a moment. "We should schedule the surgery as soon as possible."

"Agreed," Seigyoku said. They stayed in each other's comforting arms.

XXXX

Yugi looked around for a vending machine, he was thirsty. As he turned a corner, he saw Marik talking on his cell phone. He quickly turned the corner and hid behind the wall.

"Why didn't you come meet me today?" Marik asked, this voice sounding slightly concerned. There was a pause. "Son, tell me the truth." Yugi's eyes widened slightly; he was talking to Malik. Yugi got out his own cell phone and performed a hacking trick Mokuba had taught him; this would allow him to hear Marik and Malik's conversation. He put the phone to his ear.

"Because I didn't feel like it," Malik answered.

"Why?" Marik asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"You tell me," Malik said, sarcasm and sadness mixed in his voice. "You are 'Surgeon of the Year'." Marik sighed, obviously frustrated.

"This is about Yugi isn't it?" he asked.

"You can't make me like girls," Malik answered.

"Damn it Malik!" Marik said. Malik hung up. This only aggravated Marik; he cursed under his breath, then leaned against the wall, sighing as he put his hand over his face. Yugi put his cell phone away and took a deep breath. He walked out, acting casual.

"Hi, Mr. Ishtar." He greeted. Marik looked up.

"Yugi," he replied as a greeting. Yugi smiled.

"May I ask you something?" Yugi inquired. Marik said nothing. Yugi took this as a sign to continue. "Marik seems mad at me, he won't even talk to me at school…You would know why, would you?" Yugi put on his desperate face. Marik sighed and shook his head.

"No Yugi," he said. "I don't."

"Oh," Yugi answered. He looked at the floor sadly. Marik frowned.

"I'll tell him to call you," Marik answered. Yugi looked up hopefully.

"Thank you Mr. Ishtar!" Yugi said excitedly. He smiled then walked. Marik watched him go. Huffing, Marik took out his cell phone and called Malik.

"Come to the hospital now," he said. "If you're not in my office within an hour, you will regret it." He hung up, never giving Malik a chance to speak.

XXXX

Komoura knocked on the door as she entered Seimei's room. Yami and Seigyoku looked up at her. "Joey's awake," she said. Yami and Seigyoku looked at her other. Seimei was still sleeping.

"I'll go," Yami said. Seigyoku nodded. Yami followed Komoura down the hall to Joey's room.

"Joey," Komoura said as they walked in. He looked at them and smiled.

"How's it going?" Joey asked hoarsely. Yami chuckled as he walked to Joey's bed.

"I should be asking you that," he said. Joey only smiled.

"Seimei….?" he whispered.

"She's sleeping right now," Yami answered. Joey nodded.

"Hey dad," Yugi said as he walked in. "Is Joey awake?" Yami nodded. Yugi nervously walked over to his bedside; Joey smiled at him.

"How's my main man?" Joey asked. Yugi only nodded, knowing that if he spoke, he would cry. Joey smiled and reached up to touch Yugi's face. His thumb gently brushed against Yugi's cheek. Yugi swallowed his upcoming sobs and forced his tears back. Joey smiled and forced himself to sit up.

"Joey!" Komoura started to protest.

"I'm alright," Joey said. H smiled widely once he was sitting up.

"You sure?" Everyone turned around. Seto and Samara greeted them with smiled.

"How…?" Yami started to ask.

"Yugi called us," Samara explained. Yami looked at Yugi who smiled.

"I figured you meant to, but forgot, so I did it for you." he explained. Yami smiled at him, giving him a small hug.

"Here Komoura," Samara said, handing her a change of clothes. "I'm gonna go check on Sei," Samara left the room.

"Hey Yami," Seto said. "Let's go get some sodas." He started to leave.

"Be good," Yami told Yugi before catching up with Seto.

"I'll be in the bathroom if you need me," Komoura said, going into the bathroom to change. Once Yugi and Joey were alone, Yugi faced him.

"Yug," Joey said.

"Hm?" Yugi asked. In one quick motion, Joey had his arms around Yugi's waist and pulled him into his lap. Joey tightly wrapped his arms around him.

"Yug," he said again. "I know this is gonna be hard with me and Seimei in the hospital at the same time, but I need you to be strong okay?" Yugi did or said nothing, he just listened to Joey. "Your dad's gonna need you if something goes wrong with Seimei's operation, okay?" Yugi managed to nod. Joey tightened his grip on him. "Everything's gonna be okay, Yugi." he said. "I promise," Yugi only nodded again. A knock at the door made them both jump. They looked up as Marik walked in nonchalantly.

"You shouldn't be doing that," he said, looking over Joey's charts.

"What?" Joey asked.

"Him," Marik said, meaning Yugi. "Your internal stitches are still fragile, he'll put too much weight on them and they'll pop."

"No he won't," Joey said. "Watch!" Marik rolled his eyes as he looked over the charts. He hated it when patients tried to prove him wrong. He looked up at Joey and dropped his charts in shock.

"Mr. Wheeler!" he shouted. Joey smiled at He held Yugi above his head.

"See?" Joey said. "No problem! I'm okay!"

"J-Joey…!" Yugi said nervously. Joey chuckled.

"No worries!" Joey said.

"Joey!" Komoura shouted, exiting the bathroom. Joey jumped, nearly dropping Yugi. "Put him down!" Joey quickly obeyed. Yami chuckled, he and Seto entering the room. Yugi smiled at his dad. Marik sighed in relief, trying to calm himself down.

"Dad?" Everyone looked towards the door. Malik gazed nervously at his father.

"Good," Marik said, heading for the door. He turned and looked at Yugi. "Could I borrow Yugi for a bit?" he asked. Yami blinked.

"Sure," Yami said. Yugi smiled and followed Marik out the room. Malik walked long side of him, looking at the floor nervously. Yugi looked at him curiously. They followed Marik to his office. Once inside, Marik closed all the blinds to his office windows and turned off his computer. Afterwards, he focused on the two boys; they were standing nervously in the middle of the office.

"I'm going to leave you two in here for a while," he said. "I'm going to lock the door when I leave. If someone knocks, don't answer. You two can do whatever you want, just don't break anything." He headed for the door, but stopped when he felt Malik hug him from behind. He looked at his son; a wordless thanks present in his eyes. Marik said nothing as he left his office, closing the door behind him. They heard the lock click.

"What's that all about?" Yugi asked. Marik turned to him.

"This!" He grabbed Yugi by his wrists and pinned him against a nearby wall. Yugi blushed deeply. Malik smiled and crushed his lips to Yugi's.

XXXX

Seigyoku looked over at her daughter. She was sleeping again, it was hard for her to say awake with all the medication they were giving her. Seigyoku sighed, her gaze returning to the floor. She began to hear a squeaking noise, as if someone was squeezing a balloon. She looked around, standing up even to find the source.

"Something wrong, miss?" a nurse asked, stepping in.

"Don't you hear that?" Seigyoku asked. They both became quiet, listening. Suddenly the needle, connected to an IV, flew out of her arms, as if someone had yanked it out. Then, the bag itself popped and the metal pole, holding up the IV became bent, as if someone had banged it against something. Seigyoku stared in horror as all this happened. The nurse called for help.

XXXX

"What happened?" Yami asked Seigyoku, who had joined the rest in Joey's room.

"Everything just went crazy," she explained, hugging herself. They were all silent. "I don't see why I can't go back into my daughter's room," Seigyoku said. "I didn't do anything." No one said anything.

"Where's Yugi?" Seto finally asked.

"Marik borrowed him, remember?" Samara said.

"Yeah," Seto continued. "But what takes over an hour?" Yami got up and looked down the hall, hoping to see Marik.

"Can I help you, Mr. Mouto?" the cold voice asked. Yami jumped slightly as he turned at Marik.

"Yes," Yami said. "Where's my son?" Marik eyes widened slightly.

"Your son and mine are in my office." Marik said. "They were having an argument and I gave them my office so they could settle it."

"I see," Yami answered. "Do you think they've finished?"

"Let's go check," Marik inquired. He led the way to his office. Yami followed. Marik made sure he took the long way and walked slowly. Yami didn't seem to mind; he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "Something on your mind?" Marik asked. Yami looked up at him.

"Well," Yami stared. "Mr. Ishtar, with all due respect, my wife and I can't really afford the surgery with Seimei…"

"No problem," Marik said. "You can pay in monthly fees like everyone else." Yami blinked at Marik. "I don't add interest either," he continued. "There's no point in it. If you keep adding money to money owed, they'll never be able to pay it off. Ridiculous ways of the government." Yami smiled at him.

"Thank you," Yami said. He thought he heard Marik mumble something along the lines of "I owe you," but said nothing. When they reached Marik's office, he knocked four times, then unlocked the door. As they stepped inside, Yugi and Malik looked up from the chairs they were sitting in. They smiled at their fathers.

"Hey dad," Malik greeted, standing up.

"You two settled your argument?" Marik asked.

"Yep," Malik answered. He smiled at Yugi, who stood up as well. He walked over to Yami, who smiled.

"Son," Yami said. "You need to rest."

"Aw dad," Yugi said. "I'm not a little kind, and I'm not tired." Yami chuckled.

"I know son," Yami said. "But its mid-night and tomorrow's Monday."

"I won't be bale to concentrate in school with Joey in the hospital," Yugi pleaded. Yami fell silent. He put his arm around Yugi and hugged him.

"We'll see son," he said. Yami thanked Marik and he and Yugi headed back to Joey's room. Malik looked at up at his father; his face was serious.

"He didn't mention his sister," Marik pointed out. Malik looked at the floor.

"I know," he answered. "He's my counter."

"Are you sure?" Marik asked, looking at his son.

"Yeah dad," Malik said. "I'm sure."

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Yay! Another chapter! It's starting to get interesting! Right? C'mon! Reviews are welcome! I live for reviews! Let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Other**

_The room was dark and cold, the moonlight shining through the window lit up the area. A small child, no older than five, sat in the empty room playing with the few toys provided. A woman stepped into view; she stared at the child. She hand long, black hair and soulless light blue eyes. Her white, slim dress expressed how dark her skin was. She called the child's name, but no sound was heard. The child turned, revealing a boy. He giggled and ran to the woman, hugging her legs. She knelt down, running her fingers through the boy's hair. She said something; the boy's features became saddened. He began to beg her, tears pouring from his eyes. She seemed to ignore him as she stood and left the room. The boy called after her, then stepped into the moonlight…sand-colored hair, dark skin, and confused blue eyes…Malik…_

XXXX

Yugi shot up from his sleep; cold sweat and rapid breathing followed. He looked around. _"I'm at Seto's house,"_ he thought, climbing out of bed. _"How…?"_ His thoughts trailed off, going back to the dream he just had. Before he realized it, he was in the kitchen.

"Morning Yugi," Samara greeted, holding a coffee mug. He looked at her.

"Where's Seto?" Yugi asked.

"Work," Samara said with a giggle. "Your dad and Seigyoku stayed at the hospital."

"How…?" Yugi began to ask.

"Seto and I drove you here after you fell asleep at the hospital." She took a sip of her coffee.

"I don't even remember falling asleep…" Yugi whispered. Samara frowned at him. She put her mug down and walked over to him. She put her mug down and walked over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder making his fearful gaze meet her eyes.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. Yugi shook his head.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Seven a.m.," Samara still held concern in her voice. "Do you want to go to school?" Yugi shook his head again. "Maybe you should go back to bed," Yugi slowly nodded and headed back upstairs. Samara watched him with nervous eyes.

XXXX

Marik quickly scrolled through his schedule on his computer. He didn't get a chance to sleep last night, so he hoped he could get everything done quickly. As he looked through all his schedules, he noticed that today was empty. He stared at the empty square for a while. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He began to feel comfortable, so he grabbed his charts and walked out of his office. He headed to Seimei's room. He peered inside and saw Yami and Seigyoku; both staring at their daughter.

"Mr. Mouto," he said. Both looked up at him, their tired features obvious. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to do Seimei's operation in two hours." Yami blinked, slightly shocked.

"Of course," he said. Marik nodded and began to leave.

"Marik," Seigyoku called. He stopped, but didn't turn around. "Please," she said. "What are her chances?" Marik took a deep breath.

"She has a five percent chance of surviving," he said. "Maybe less because she's so young." He heard Seigyoku began to sob, and slowly left the room. His throat and chest tightened. He took a deep breath and held it. He walked to the main lobby area and grabbed the dry-erase marker for the surgery board. Under nine a.m., he wrote "Aneurism; main artery." and started to put the marker down, then stopped. He stared at what he wrote. Next, under that, he wrote "7-yr. girl" and put the marker down. He walked half-way down the hall and turned; several interns were already signing in.

XXXX

Komoura helped Joey onto his crutches. "Are you sure?" she asked him again.

"Yeah," Joey said tiredly. "My buddy needs me," Keeping his injured ankle off the floor, he 'crutched' his way to Seimei's room. Komoura stayed close to him in case he would lose in balance. He smiled weakly when he entered Seimei's room. Yami and Seigyoku smiled at him. "How much longer?" he asked.

"About another twenty minutes." Seigyoku answered. They all fell silent. Komoura let out a weak sigh. They all stared at Seimei.

"This surgery can not happen!" They heard someone shout. Marik and another man, rather nerdy looking, entered Seimei's room. "You can not perform this on someone so young!" the man said.

"So I'm not good enough?" Marik asked.

"I didn't say that," the man continued. "I said it's took risky and her chances are low."

"Who the hell are you?!" Yami asked.

"I'm from Social Services, and that's all you need to know." The man stated. He turned back to Marik. "Now," how does she hit her forehead and get an aneurism on the back on her head?"

"Maybe the shock traveled," Marik suggested. He tried to ignore the man by looked over Seimei's stats.

"Unlikely," the main concluded. "Personally, I think this surgery should be canceled!" he continued. "She'll die if this happens!"

"Technically, she'll be dead before the surgery starts!" Marik concluded angrily. "We're stopping her heart and her brain!" And second of all, she's not your kid, so you have no right 'suggesting' what should or shouldn't be done!" The Social Services Agent glared at him. He looked at Seimei's stats.

"Have you sedated her properly?" he asked.

"Sedate this!" Marik said, punching the man in the nose. He fell back, out cold.

"Nice shot!" Joey complimented. Marik smirked.

"A couple of meds, and he'll forget everything," Marik said. He called a nurse and put the man in a wheel chair in the hall. "Tell the interns to get ready." The nurse nodded as she left, taking the wheelchair with her.

XXXX

Everyone sat in the waiting area; the Moutos, the Kaibas, Seigyoku's family, Joey, and Komoura. They were all silent. Joey had his eyes locked on the clock hanging above the reception desk. Seigyoku's family was huddled around her; her mother, Chi-Chi, giving her a sympathetic glance every now and then; her dad, Goku, and her elder brother, Gohan, was sitting a few ways away in silence. Yami and Yugi were sitting together, brother staring at the floor. Seto, Samara, and Noah were also sitting together. Six long hours passed…

"Sei," Komoura said softly when she saw Marik approaching. She and Yami stood up; everyone doing the same. He looking at some papers are he approached them. When he looked up, his eyes slightly widened at the small crowd.

"She'll be fine," Marik said. The interns, who had unknowingly followed him, began to cheer. He made a face, turned to them, and shouted "Get back to work!" They quickly obeyed. "Idiots," he muttered. Before he could say anything else, he felt Seigyoku wrap her arms around him.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. Marik blinked; he gently pushed her off.

"Don't thank me just yet." he said. "There's another choice I need you to make." Seigyoku's expression went back to worry. "Although Seimei will recover, we need to if we affected anything in her memories or functions. However, she's still very weak and the sooner we know, the better."

"What's the decision?" Yami asked. Marik sighed.

"I need to know if you would like to perform a blood transfusion on your daughter. This will allow her to recover quicker." He paused. "From the tests I conducted, no one in the family is compatible. However, I did find someone within the city."

"Who?" Seigyoku pressed.

"He's on his—"

"Hi dad!" Malik hugged Marik tightly. Marik cleared his throat unapprovingly. Malik giggled as he released him.

"Malik…" Yami whispered. Malik looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry Mr. Mouto." Malik said. "I know the whole story."

"Then please," Seigyoku said. "Will you…?" she trailed off. Malik lowered his gaze in thought. He glanced up slightly to see Yugi. Yugi glared at him and slowly shook his head. Malik was surprised by this and glared back.

"I'll do it Mr. Mouto," Malik said firmly. Yugi's glare deepened.

"Thank you," Yami said, smiling at him.

"You can all go visit Seimei," Marik said. "She should be waking up soon. If she forgets anything, let me know." They nodded. He looked at Malik. "Come with me, son." he said. Malik nodded and followed his dad. Everyone headed into Seimei's room. She woke up soon after."

"Mommy?" she said. Seigyoku rushed to her side.

"Hey sweetie," she said. "Guess who's here." Seimei smiled tiredly as she slowly sat up.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" she said excitedly. Chi-Chi and Goku smiled. "Uncle Gohan!" Gohan smiled too. Seigyoku gently kissed Seimei's cheek, receiving a giggle. She ran her fingers through Seimei's hair, only to stop at Seimei's shoulders.

"_He cut her hair…"_ Seigyoku thought, remembering her daughter's long, dark, beautiful curls. She sighed sadly, then smiled. _"It was for the best…"_

"Mommy?" Seimei said. "What's wrong?" Seigyoku blinked and looked into her daughter's worried eyes. She smiled.

"I'm okay," she promised. Seimei smiled and looked around.

"Where's big brother?" she asked.

"He's right—" Yami stopped as he looked around. "Yugi?" he asked. Everyone looked around curiously.

"I'll go find him," Joey offered with a smile. He and Komoura left.

XXXX

Malik stumbled out of the nurse's office. He leaned against the wall for support. Marik frowned at his son as he handed him a glass of water.

"Take it easy," he said. Malik nodded and took the water, sipping at it. Marik sighed and headed to Seimei's room. As soon as Marik was gone, Yugi went up to Malik.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. Malik glared at him.

"Some brother you are," Malik steadied himself to stand. "I'd kill for a younger sibling."

"Good, you can have mine." Yugi said. They glared at each other.

"I just can't believe you'd let your sister die if she had the chance!"

"Well at least she'd be out of my life!"

"You're so horrible!" Malik said, pushing him back. Yugi began to fall…

XXXX

Marik knocked as he entered Seimei's room. Everyone looked up at him. Without saying a word, he put a needle in Seimei's arm and hooked up Malik blood. Almost instantly, her color began to return. As he left, Yami quickly got up and followed him.

"Dr. Ishtar," he said. Marik stopped and faced him. Yami smiled as he caught up. "I just wanted to thank you again—!"

"Don't," Marik said. "I do this for a living." They were silent for a moment. "Mr. Mouto," Marik said, looking at him. "Forgive my intrusion, but where's your family?" Yami fell silent. He began to speak, but was interrupted by Malik running up to them.

"Malik," Marik said. "What's wrong?"

"Yugi!" he said. He grasped each side of his head, as if he was in pain. "God, I'm so sorry!"

"Malik," Yami said, trying to calm him down and hide his own worry. "Where's Yugi?"

"Down the hall," Malik stuttered. Yami took off to find him. Marik helped his son into a nearby chair.

"I'll be right back," he promised. He followed Yami. They found Yugi sitting up against the wall. He was out cold with his eyes wide open in fear and an X-shaped burn across his chest, both lines starting at his shoulders.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Hidden Sorrows**

Seigyoku's family left after about an hour. She was surprised it was taking Yami, Joey, and Komoura this long to find Yugi.

"Do you think he went home?" Samara asked.

"It's a long walk," Seto informed. They fell silent. Joey and Komoura came in.

"Did Yami find him?" Joey asked.

"No," Seigyoku said with a sigh. Komoura sat next to her.

"Don't worry," Komoura said. "He's probably hanging out with some other teens in the hospital."

"Psst, Seigyoku!" Yami whispered as he poked his head into the room. Seigyoku gave him a weird look. "Is your family gone?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Seigyoku answered in a normal tone.

"Is Seimei sleeping?" He continued to whisper.

"No," she said. Seimei blinked at her father. Yami stepped in the room. "What's up with you?" Seigyoku asked.

"Nothing," Yami said casually. Seigyoku raised and eyebrow. Yam turned away from her and walked to Seimei's bed. He hugged her. "How's my little girl?" She giggled.

"Fine daddy," Yami kissed her cheek.

"What's up with you?" Seigyoku asked again.

"Are you gonna come check on your son or what?" Marik asked as he passed by the door. Yami slapped his forehead. Seigyoku glared at him.

XXXX

"I'm sorry," Malik repeated.

"Don't be," Yugi repeated also. Malik looked at the floor sadly. He gently rubbed some lotion on Yugi's burn.

"Dad said it wouldn't leave a bad scar." Malik explained.

"That's good." Yugi said. Malik finished up and put the lotion down. He stood up and; since Yugi was sitting down on the bed, Malik was at least six inches above him; faced Yugi. Slowly, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Yugi's. Yugi let out a soft sigh. "You planned this," he whispered to Malik.

"Why do you think I locked the door?" Malik asked with a chuckle. Yugi smiled at him. Malik began to gently kiss Yugi's neck as they both wrapped their arms around each other. Yugi suppressed a moan as he pulled Malik closer. Malik sighed softly; Yugi shivered at his hot breath. Yugi began to feel a pounding in his head. He tried to shake it off, but wouldn't go away. He realized it was his head, but someone knocking.

"Malik," he mumbled.

"Hm?" Malik asked, not stopping.

"Malik!" Yugi said, pulling away. Malik blinked. "Someone's at the door."

"Oh!" Malik said. He quickly rushed to the door and opened it. Marik gave him a suspicious look. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Does it still hurt, Yugi?" Marik asked, finally walking in.

"No," Yugi said. "The only time it really hurt was when I first got it." Marik only nodded.

"Your family is on their way," Marik said.

"Oh," Yugi merely answered. He looked at the floor. Marik stared at him.

"Seigyoku," he said. "She's not your mother."

"Nope," Yugi said, in a grateful yet angered voice. "How did—?"

"You hate her," Marik said, as if it was obvious. "I don't know any child who hates their own mother." He paused. "You don't seem to care for Seimei either."

"I wish they both would leave." Yugi said glaring. He wasn't glaring at Marik, just showing his anger.

"Yugi?" Seigyoku asked as she stepped into the room. Yugi turned to her. She gasped at the burned X on his chest. "Are you alright?" She began to reach for Yugi's shoulder, but he slapped her hand away. She seemed to be hurt by this action.

"Yugi!" Yami said sternly. Yugi flinched at his voice, but glared at the floor. Yami's stern glared stayed on him; Yugi could feel it.

"Jesus, Yugi…" Seto commented as he stepped in; Samara, holding Noah, came in as well. Yugi faced them. "How the hell did that happened?"

"I don't remember," Yugi answered quickly. Malik swallowed nervously.

"It looks like you've been branded," Samara said, stepping closer. Noah began to squirm furiously in her arms. "Noah…"

"No!" He shouted. She took a few steps back and he calmed down. She looked down at him confused.

"I'll take him for you, Mrs. Kaiba." Malik said, walking towards her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Malik nodded. "Okay," she said, handing Noah to him. "Just let me know if he's too much." She walked over to Yugi, examining the burns. Yugi just watched her.

"Will these leave scars?" Seigyoku asked. Marik shrugged.

"Fifty percent chance," he said. "But for personal opinion, I say no."

"Will he need any kind of surgery?" Yami asked. Marik shook his head.

"Just put this on it every night for a week or so." He tossed the bottle of lotion to Yami.

"When can he go home?" Seigyoku asked.

"Today," Marik said. "Like I said, they're not that bad."

"And Seimei?" Seigyoku asked hopefully. Marik sighed.

"When she was talking did you notice any flaws?" he asked. "Did she forget anyone?"

"She remembered everything!" Seigyoku pleaded. "All of our names and who we were…and there were no flaws in her speech." Marik gave her an unsure look. "Please Marik," she begged. He sighed, defeated.

"Fine," he said. "Just let me go fill out her prescription for some pain killers." He left.

"Everything's going back to normal," Joey said, giving Yugi a hug. Yugi smiled childishly. Yami smiled at this; Yugi used to smile like that when he was with Anzu…Yami shook his head. When was the last time he thought about her? Sure, Yugi would bring her up sometimes and they would talk about how she used to play with him and how much she loved Yugi. He even had one picture of her and Yugi in his wallet. He took out his wallet and opened it up to the picture.

Yugi was three at the time. He was sitting in Anzu's lap while she was hugging him from behind. Her arms crossed his chest—

Yami's eyes widened. He looked up at Yugi and stared at the burned X on his chest; then looked back at the picture.

"What's wrong?" Seigyoku asked, walking over to him. When she saw the picture, she stopped. It hurt her feelings to see that Yami still had something like that; she told herself that he merely kept it for Yugi, but she couldn't shake that feeling. Without saying a word, Yami handed the picture to Seigyoku and walked over to Yugi's bed. Everyone else had also been confused by Yami's behavior. Yami got behind Yugi and wrapped his arms around him, crossing over his chest, covering up the burned X. He looked back at Seigyoku. At first, she didn't get it, but when she realized his point, she turned pale. _"Anzu hugged him the same way…"_

XXXX

Seigyoku gently took Seimei into her arms. Seimei looked up at her. "Are we going home?" she asked. Seigyoku nodded. Seimei smiled widely. "Yay! I'm going home!" Seigyoku and Yami laughed. Yugi, who was standing in the doorway, rolled his eyes. They filled out the release forms at the reception desk and headed for their car in the parking lot.

"My baby girl is back!" Seigyoku said, hugging her. Seimei giggled.

"Dad," Yugi said. "Where did Seto and Joey go?"

"They're staying behind for a bit," Yami explained. "Joey and Komoura are gonna see how long Joey needs to stay off his feet. Seto and Samara are gonna give them a lift home." Yugi nodded. He looked back at the hospital. Yami smiled gently and put his arm around Yugi. "Miss them already?" he asked jokingly.

"Sorta," Yugi said. Yami almost chuckled, but he realized Yugi was serious. It wasn't often Yugi got to see them anymore. They were all busy nowadays. Yami smiled and gave Yugi a quick hug.

XXXX

"Quit it," Seigyoku said to Yami as she brushed her hair in the bathroom doorway. After they arrived home, they ordered out for supper. Later the kids took their bathes and went to bed. Now, Yami and Seigyoku were in their room. Yami was sitting at the foot of the bed.

"What?" Yami asked.

"Quit thinking that all of this is happening again." she said, turning back into the bathroom. Yami watched her.

"You must be thinking the same thing," Yami said. "Otherwise you would have never guessed what I was thinking." Seigyoku said nothing. She crawled into bed.

"That was nine years ago." she said, pulling the covers to her shoulders. "The bitch is burning right now," Yami got off the bed and left the room. "Yami!" Seigyoku called over him. She grabbed her robe and put it on. She followed him out the door and watched him as he sat down on the porch swing. She stared at him for a moment. Suddenly, she gasped and brought her hand to her mouth; Yami closed his eyes…both coming to the same realization. "You still miss her…" Seigyoku whispered. Yami said nothing. "That's not fair!" Seigyoku shouted, tears in her eyes. "You can't do that!" Yami was still silent. Seigyoku ran back into the house, crying. Yami stayed on the porch swing. His eyes remained closed as his mind trailed back to nine years ago. All the damage that had been done to him, his family, and his friends. After it all had ended, no one ever spoke of it. But now…could it be? Should he…? Would they…? These unfinished questions stayed in Yami's mind as he fell asleep.

XXXX

Yami awoke at dawn. When he realized he had fallen asleep on the porch swing, he quickly got up and headed inside. He secretly prayed none of the neighbors had seen him; the last thing he need was they thinking he had a drinking problem or something. He headed up the stairs, debating on the best way to apologize to Seigyoku; but when he opened their bedroom door, no one was inside.

"_Maybe she took the kids to school early,"_ Yami thought. _"That way we could have some time to talk before I went to work." _He closed the door and headed for the stairs.

"Morning dad," Yugi said as he stepped into the hall. Yami froze when he saw him.

"You're still here…" Yami whispered in disbelief.

"Well yeah." Yugi said. "School doesn't start for another hour." Yugi blinked. "What's wrong dad?" Yami said nothing. His eyes were wide with fear and his heart was racing. He ran to Seimei's room and opened the door. Her bed was empty, but all her stuff was still in place. He ran to her closet and opened it; all her clothes were gone. Panicked, Yami ran downstairs to the kitchen looking for a note or something. He found a yellow page on the counter. Slowly, he picked it up and read it.

"_Call me when you're over her; for real."_

Under that, it had Seigyoku's cell phone number. However, under the number it had:

"_You can only call me once, then I'm blocking your calls."_

Yami fell to his knees, clutching the note in his hand. Tears filled his eyes as he began to shake.

"Dad?" Yugi asked worriedly as he stepped into the kitchen. "What's wrong?" Yami was to speechless to answer. "Dad?" Yugi asked again. Yami stood up slowly; he steadied his voice to speak.

"It's alright Yugi." he said. "Call Seto and ask him to bring you to school." Yugi nodded and did as he was told. As Yugi began to dial the phone, Yami decided to make some coffee; he would need something to calm him his nerves. The whole time Yugi was on the phone, the note remained crushed in Yami's hand. When Yugi got off the phone, he turned to his father.

"Seto said he's coming," Yami only nodded. Yugi stepped closer to him. "Dad, what's wrong?" Yami sighed deeply.

"Yugi," he said. "I'll explain after school, I promise…right now, I just need to get everything straight." He fell silent. Yugi stepped closer to Yami and wrapped his arms around him. Yami turned around and returned the gesture. They two stayed like that, until they heard Seto knock at the door. Seto smiled as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Ready, Yugi?" he asked. Yugi nodded. He followed Seto out the door and to the car. Yami stayed in the kitchen. He sighed as he leaned on the counter.

"You alright?" Yami jumped at the voice. He looked up to see Joey's smile.

"Joey?" Yami said. "What are you doing here?"

"Seto and I were talking on the phone when Yugi called." Joey explained. "He told me what Yugi said and I asked him to pick me up." He smiled at his friend. "Everything okay?" Yami shook his head.

"I would rather explain when Seto got back." Yami said. "I need time to gather my thoughts." Joey only nodded. They stood there in silence. Joey put his crutches to the side and sat down at the table. He sighed as well. He looked up at his life-long friend. Whatever had happened scared Yami pretty bad. At first, Joey hadn't notice but now he did; Yami was shaking. Joey looked around the kitchen; he listened intently…and heard nothing. He realized Seigyoku had left and probably took Seimei with her since Yami had asked Seto only to bring Yugi to school. Joey closed his eyes; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to help Yami this time…

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Okay, quick note at the end of all this. Sorry for not updating sooner, I was really busy. But I'm back now, and I'll be continuing my regular updating schedule, which is about every two or three days. I hate to keep my fans waiting; in my opinion that is just rude. Hope you guys leave reviews; love ya!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: No Where Near**

"Okay," Seto said, "What happened?" They were all in the kitchen, sitting at the table, sipping coffee. Yami was sitting at the end of the table; Joey and Seto were on the sides. Yami sighed before answering the question. He took out his wallet and took out the Anzu and Yugi photo. Joey and Seto looked at it, both giving him a look that screamed "WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT?!"

"See the way she's hugging Yugi?" Yami asked. Seto and Joey didn't answer. "Yugi's burn patterns match up with her arms." He paused briefly. "I think Anzu's back." Seto and Joey looked around the room nervously.

"Is that why Seigyoku left?" Joey asked. Yami shook his head.

"After we got home from the hospital, I began thinking Anzu was back. Seigyoku got annoyed with that and told me to stop." Yami paused, remembering the argument. "Then, we kinda got into an argument and I left the room. She followed me to the porch and…" He trailed off. Seto and Joey looked at each other, then back at Yami.

"And?" Seto egged on. Yami sighed.

"She found out."

"What?" Joey asked.

"That I still miss Anzu," Joey's mouth fell open as Seto began to choke on his coffee. Yami closed his eyes.

"Can you run that by me again?" Joey said.

"You're not serious, are you?" Seto asked.

"I haven't been missing all of the nine years." Yami explained. "It just came back last night!"

"Well, what started it?" Joey asked.

"When I thought about how Anzu and Yugi in the hospital!" Yami sighed.

"Why did she come to mind?" Seto asked.

"Because you were hugging Yugi and the way he smiled reminded me of how happy he was when Anzu was still alive!" He groaned and put his head down. Seto and Joey were silent.

"What do you think Yami?" Joey asked gently. Yami looked up at him. "Do you think this is a phase or what?"

"I don't know," Yami said. "This all just happened so suddenly." He looked up at his friends. "I still love Seigyoku and Seimei very much."

"We don't doubt that," Seto said. "We're just worried about your marriage."

"What should I do?" Yami asked.

"Maybe you should get professional help," Joey suggested. Yami gave him a light glare.

"Look," Seto said. "Don't tell Samara, but I'm still seeing Dr. Ari. Remember, she helped Yugi?" Yami nodded. "Maybe you should try it out." Yami said nothing.

"Maybe you should call Seigyoku," Joey suggested. Yami shook his head as he handed them the note. They read it and looked back up at him.

"I only have one chance." Yami said. "I have to get all my facts straight before I can call her." They fell silent. Yami sighed. "I'm scared, guys."

XXXX

Yugi walked into the house with a very pissed off look. He slammed the door shut. Yami poked his head out from the kitchen. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Besides the fact that school let out over an hour ago!" Yugi shouted. Yami looked at the clock.

"Oh Yugi," he said. "I'm sorry. I was just…" He trailed off and sighed. They were both silent. "We need to talk," Yami said gently.

"About?" Yugi asked. Yami sighed again.

"Just come see," He stepped back into the kitchen. Confused, Yugi followed. Seto and Joey had left, so Yami and Yugi were alone. Yugi began to feel nervous. He sat down at the table.

"What's up, dad?" Yugi asked. Yami stood, leaning against the counter.

"Yugi," he started with a sigh. "When your mother first died, I felt so lost. I didn't know if I had the strength to raise you on my own. I was so scared I'd mess up at one point or another. Finally, about two weeks after Anzu's funeral, I dropped you off at Seto's and left."

"You left?" Yugi asked, giving Yami the "HOW COULD YOU?!" look. Yami nodded.

"I didn't tell anyone where I was going, how to reach me, or when I'd be back." Yami paused. "I came back three months later."

"What were you doing?" Yugi asked.

"Anything that I thought would make the pain go away." Yami answered. "Drugs, alcohol, you name it." Yugi's eyes widened.

"What made you come back?" he asked. Yami could see the guilt building in Yugi's eyes. He had expected as much. Yugi would blame himself for a while, then Yami would have to prove it wasn't his fault.

"This," Yami said, showing Yugi the photo of Anzu hugging him in her lap. Yugi took it from Yami and looked at it. "You're three in that picture." Yami said. "One day that fell out of my wallet. I picked it up and remembered you. Then, I knew I couldn't stay the way I was. I had to go back and take care of you. You had just loss your mother to unfair circumstances; you had no right to lose your father too." Yami sighed. "So I cleaned myself up and went back to get you."

"Where did you go?" Yugi asked.

"To tell you the truth," Yami said. "I don't remember. I just kept driving until I came into a big city." They were both silent. Yugi looked at the photo. He traced over Anzu with his fingertips.

"Then what happened?" Yami asked without looking up.

"After I picked you up from Seto's," Yami sighed, also sitting down. He sat next to Yugi. "I spent all the time I could you." A small smile spread across Yami's lips. "Sometimes we would just kid around or talk…" Yugi smiled too.

"I remember bits and pieces of that…" Yugi admitted. Yami nodded.

"After a year or so, Seto and Joey wanted me to start dating again." Yami said "Personally, I didn't think I was ready, but…" Yami shrugged. "Anyways, around this time you were thinking that talking about your mother was forbidden. Every time you'd bring her up, you'd fall silent and look at me with this apologetic, nervous look." Yami sighed. "One night we went out for a bite and I almost hit someone." Yugi's eyes widened. "That someone was Seigyoku." He paused for a moment. "She went off on me and we exchanged names. The next night, I met her again at a local club."

"You went to a club?" Yugi asked. Yami laughed.

"I know how to have some fun." Yugi rolled his eyes. Yami smiled. "From there, Seigyoku and I just got closer, with some unwanted help from Seto and Joey." Yugi giggled. Yami smiled, then frowned. "But," he started again. "Not everything went so great. After Seigyoku and I began going steady, strange things started to happen."

"Strange?" Yugi asked nervously. Yami nodded.

"Slashes and cuts would appear on you for no apparent reason, things would fall over, not to mention Seigyoku's cat would go crazy." Yami sighed and looked at Yugi. Yugi swallowed nervously.

"What was happening, dad?" Yugi asked. Yami sighed.

"You are not going to believe me when I say it," Yami laughed lightly. "Your mother's ghost was haunting us."

"I beg your pardon?!" Yugi blurted out. Yami laughed lightly.

"Your mother was haunting us," he repeated. "Apparently she didn't like the fact that I'd moved on."

"Okay," Yugi said awkwardly. "Is she still here?" Yami shook his head. "How do you get read of a ghost?" Yami sighed.

"I believe she was here because she wanted to get back at me through you." Yami sighed again. "We got rid of her, well you did by telling her to leave." Yugi stared at his father. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Okay," he said. "Anything else you wanna tell me about mom?" Yami nodded, his face becoming grave.

"Your mother had been getting her revenge for a while, before she died." Yami reached out and held Yugi's hand. "Yugi, when you were first born I had a job that kept me away from you and your mother a lot. As you got older, it annoyed her more. She asked me to change shifts or find another job, but I told her that it would only be worse if I did."

"What was the job dad?" Yugi asked.

"I don't remember, probably some restaurant job or something. But my hours pissed her off more than I thought. She got back at me in the worse way…"

"What did she do?" Yugi asked.

"She molested you, Yugi." Yugi's eyes widened in shock and he turned pale. "I found out after she died. I found a calendar; she used to mark the dates―!"

"NO!" Yugi shouted, standing up from the chair so fast, it was knocked over. "You're lying to me! You're just trying to get me to hate her!" Yami slowly stood up and walked over to Yugi. Yugi made a bolt for the stairs, but Yami caught his wrist and pulled him into a hug. Yugi squirmed to get away. Yami held him tightly.

"See how you're acting?" Yami asked. "That's exactly how you acted when the psychiatrist put you under hypnosis." Yugi stopped squirming; he looked away from the father. "That's how I confirmed my suspicions," he continued. "Under hypnosis, you were begging your mother to stop, tell her 'it hurts', and…" Yami trailed off. Yugi rested his head on Yami's chest. A few quiet sobs escaped him. Yami gently rubbed his back.

"What happened after her ghost left dad?" he asked. Yami sighed.

"Nothing," he said. "It was a normal eight years." There was a pause. "But now, I think she's back Yugi."

"What?" Yugi asked looking up.

"Everything that's happening to you and Seimei can't be explained." Yami said. Yugi swallowed nervously.

"Why would she be back dad?" Yami frowned. He stared into Yugi's frightened eyes.

"Because son," Yami gently ran his fingers through Yugi's bangs. "I'm starting to miss her again." Yugi's eyes widened as he stared at his father. "I don't know why, it just happened when I saw the photo in my wallet." He sighed.

"So you think mom is haunting us again because you miss her?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded. "Dad…Seimei hit her head―!

"She hit her forehead and got an aneurism in the back!" Yami said. "And try to explain your burns to me, Yugi!" Yugi fell silent. "Your mother was holding you exactly the same way in the photo! Your burns are in the same place as her arms!" Yugi still said nothing. Yami sighed. "Seigyoku's gone," he said. Yugi looked up at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Seigyoku found out that I was starting to miss Anzu again. It upset her and she left, taking Seimei with her." Yami started at his son, trying to see how he would react.

"When will she be back?" Yugi asked. Yami shook his head. Yugi said nothing; he rested his head on Yami's chest again. Yami hugged him tightly.

"We'll get help Yugi," Yami whispered.

"Dad," Yugi said. "I know how mom got back…"

"What?" Yami asked surprised.

"Malik and I," Yugi started. "We summoned her back…through a gothic spell." Yami stared at him in horror.

"What were you two thinking?!" Yami asked.

"I felt bad because…for some reason…every time I would try to remember mom…I would remember Seigyoku instead." Tears filled his eyes. "I was afraid I'd forget about mom completely….I just thought that if I could talk to her…" He stopped for a moment. "So I went to the library to find some books on ghosts and spells…I met Malik while looking and he offered to help after we got to know each other. But we got closer and we started to worry about what our families would think and the process was delayed. Finally we got to the point where we didn't care anymore…then we hand the dinner party and…" He trailed off, breaking into sobs. Yami stared at his son in horror.

"You summoned your mother at the dinner party?!" Yami asked. Yugi managed to nod. "Yugi, that was weeks ago!" He stared at his son in horror. Slowly, he released his son and stepped away from him.

"Dad―!" Yugi began to plead.

"Go to your room." Yami commanded.

"But―!"

"NOW!" Yugi ran up the stairs and to his room, tears streaming down his face. Yami fell to his knees and buried his face into his hands. He hand nothing to do with this; all of this was Yugi's fault…

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I hate that saying…."Go to your room" God! I got chills just typing it! I hate it when parents say that…It scares me. I always think "What are they gonna do to me?" because, I don't care how big your room is, you have limited space…and normally your parents are stronger than you….Man, the possibilities! (calms herself down) Okay, is giving me trouble with uploading my documents, so my updates might be delayed, which is really pissing me off! I hate to keep you guys waiting…it makes me feel mean…Leave reviews and hopefully fanfiction will be nice to me from now on! Later guys! Love you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Punishment**

Yami waited at the door. He would glance out the window every now and then to see if a car would pull into the driveway. He sighed and took out his pack of cigarettes from the drawer in the nightstand next to the living room window. He lit one up and took a puff. He wasn't addicted; he could quit anytime he wanted. He was a closet smoker; only one cigarette every two or three months. He was about halfway through the cigarette when a purple Lamborghini pulled into his driveway. He put it out and waited for the knocking. He opened the door; Marik and Malik stood in the doorway. "Thank you for coming," Yami said. Marik nodded. He and Malik stepped inside.

"I had a hard time believing you at first," Marik said. "But after a bit of coaxing…" This time, Yami nodded. They both looked at Malik; he flinched at their stone cold looks.

"Yugi!" Yami called. They all heard his footsteps as he exited his room and came down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Marik and Malik. Malik smiled weakly, almost apologetic. Yugi walked over to Malik, then put his gaze on the floor. "Just to let you know," Yami informed. "Mr. Ishtar knows everything." A lump formed in Yugi's throat.

"What do you boys have to say for yourselves?" Marik asked.

"Sorry?" Malik suggested, looking up slightly.

"For?" Yami asked.

"Black Magic?" Yugi suggested. Everything went quiet again.

"What do you think we should do, Mr. Ishtar?" Yami asked.

"What do you have in mind, Mr. Mouto?" Marik asked.

"An eye for an eye," Yami stated. Marik looked at him curiously. "First off, Yugi, you're forbidden to see Malik until further notice." Yugi's saddened gaze deepened. He hoped that 'further notice' wouldn't be too far away. "Second," Yami continued. "You're also grounded until further notice." Yugi still said nothing. "Third, send her back!"

"Mom?" Yugi asked, looking up?

"Who do you think?!" Yami shouted.

"Mr. Mouto," Marik said. "Do you really believe your wife is back?"

"Ex-wife," Yami corrected. Seconds later, he hissed in pain and brought his hand to his left cheek. Slowly, he moved his hand only to reveal four bloody gashes. Marik's eyes widened. "Yugi…" Yami said warningly.

"My books are in my room…" Yugi stated timidly.

"Then go!" Yami shouted. Yugi flinched, heading for the stairs. Malik looked at his father; Marik nodded. Malik began to follow Yugi. When the boys were gone, Yami sighed. Marik faced him.

"You don't seem like the harsh type of father." he stated.

"I'm usually not," Yami said. "But this replay is setting me off…" There was a pause. "What about you?" Marik shrugged.

"I'm usually very strict with Malik," he admitted. "But I have been lenient with him lately since I found out he was…" He trailed off. They were silent again.

"I need a drink," Yami said to himself. He walked into the kitchen. Marik decided to follow. Yami reached for the top of the refrigerator and pulled down a small key. He then kneeled down in front of a cabinet and unlocked it with the key. He opened it, revealing a hidden wine cabinet. He grabbed one bottle, closed the door, locked the cabinet, and got out two glasses. He opened the bottle and poured some in each glass. He handed one to Marik, who nodded as a thank you. Both took a sip. "If you don't mind me asking," Yami started. "Where's Malik's mother?" Marik sighed deeply.

"Malik was born out of wedlock," Marik said. "Of course my family didn't approve one bit, being die-heart Catholics and all. They told me to leave her and Malik, but I refused." He took another sip of his wine. "The church wouldn't marry us, so we were wed by a judge. From there we raised Malik the best we could. I was still in medical school, my last year I think…. When Malik made three, that's when I finally found work at the hospital; I didn't own it yet." Marik sighed. "One day, I came home from work and found my son crying. He said that she just left." He fell silent, looking at the floor. Yami frowned.

"I'm sorry," he said. Marik shrugged. "Does Malik remember?" Marik shook his head.

"I told him she died." Marik took a long drink of his wine. "And you?" he asked. Yami sighed.

"Anzu died in a hit-and-run accident," he explained. "They never caught the bastard." Yami chuckled to himself. "One minute I hate her; the next I'm sticking up for her." Marik said nothing. Yami sighed. "You think I've gone crazy don't you?" Marik's eyes shifted to him; he hesitated to answer.

"Yes and no," he admitted. "Yes, because I doubt this could happen twice; and no, because of the gashes on your face." Yami chuckled, he took another sip of his wine. "So, what are the plans after they complete their task?"

"Like I said," Yami said. "Yugi will not see Malik for a good while, he's grounded, and I have a long-awaited request to fill." Yami fell silent. Marik sighed.

"Malik will be grounded for a bit," he said. "I think that's pretty much what I'll do."

"Here I was thinking you didn't approve of Malik," Yami stated.

"I didn't at first," Yami admitted. "But…after talking to him; I understand him now." Marik turned to him. "Funny, at first you were telling me not to be hasty, and here you are disapproving every breath your son takes."

"Your point?" Yami asked. "You can't call me a hypocrite." Marik raised his hands defensively.

"I know," Marik said. "We're both hypocrites." He smiled as he sipped his wine. "Our views have completely altered. Mine took a while to change; a few days. But you…" He faced Yami completely. "Yours changed as soon as your wife walked out that door." Yami said nothing; he stared at Marik. "You hate Yugi."

"No!" Yami shouted, standing up straight. Marik smiled evilly.

"Who's fault is it Seigyoku left?" he asked quickly.

"Yugi's," Yami answered. "If he had―!" He was cut off by the tremors that began to shake the house. He and Marik stumbled, holding onto the kitchen counter. As soon as the shaking stopped, the both left the kitchen and waited at the bottom of the stairs. They stood there for a few seconds before hearing a door open and footsteps. Yugi and Malik came downstairs; neither looking at the other and both wore grave looks. They stopped when they reached their fathers.

"Let's go," Marik said, heading for the door. Malik followed without saying good-bye to Yugi. Marik opened the door and let Malik walk out before looking at Yami. "A true parent never blames their kids for their problems." He shut the door softly. Yami turned to Yugi; he was looking at the floor nervously while fidgeting. Yami stared at him long and hard before speaking.

"Yugi," he said firmly, making the teen jump, flinch, and look up. "Go to your room. I'll meet you in a minute." Yugi turned a deathly pale and started to head up the stairs. Yami turned to go back into the kitchen, but then remembered what Yugi had said earlier about his books. "Yugi," he called, turning back around. Yugi was halfway up the stairs; but he turned and faced his dad. "Go to my room instead," Yugi's look became more fearful; and he gave a single nod. He continued his way upstairs. Yami sighed and continued his way to the kitchen. He took the bottle of wine and started to pour himself another glass. He stopped and stared at the bottle. He brought it to his lips and took a long drink. He gave a small gasp for air as he placed the bottle back down. With one last aggravated sigh, he left the kitchen and headed to his bedroom, where Yugi was waiting.

XXXXXX

Yugi nervously sat at the foot of his father's bed. He bit his lip, pressed his knees together, and began to fidget nervously. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting a small whimper escape him. He opened his eyes again and caught sight of himself in full length mirror in the bedroom corner. He blushed, embarrassed at how pathetic he looked. His gaze went to the floor; his thoughts trailing to the conversation he had earlier with his father.

"_Mother…"_ he thought sadly. He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to remember anything he could ten years back. Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind…

_Yugi, himself, looked about five; Seigyoku was holding him tightly in her arms…She was protecting him, but from what?_

Yugi concentrated harder; his gripped his fists tightly. The image came back…

_Seigyoku had a fierceful glare on her face. A gust of wind seemed to be swirling about her. She increased her grip on Yugi; then shouted something…_

Yugi's memory ended. He gasped as he came back to reality. _"What or who was she protecting me from?"_ Yugi asked mentally. Seigyoku's determined face appeared in his mind. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He looked up, only to see his father's stern gaze. He returned his look to the floor.

"Yugi," Yami said as he walked over to a chest of drawers. "I want to ask you a few questions." Yugi looked up at him. Yami turned and faced his son, leaning on the chest of drawers. "The answers you give me will have no effect on your punishment. Understood?" Yugi nodded. Yami took a deep breath. "First question; you told me plenty of times that you wished Seigyoku and Seimei would leave. Did you mean it?"

"Not like this…" Yugi answered softly, bringing his hands together. "I didn't want them to just get up and leave…I just wanted more time with you dad." For a moment, Yami's features softened; but almost instantly they went back into coldness.

"Did you think of Seigyoku as your mother?"

"No…" Yugi answered, rather quickly.

"Why?" Yami asked, raising his voice. Yugi hesitated to answer.

"It just didn't feel right…" he whispered. "After you just married Sei, I thought about it…but every time I would try to call her mom…it would just get caught in my throat…" Yami stared at him long and hard. "After a while, I just quit trying." Yugi finished.

"Why the hatred toward Seimei?" Yami asked quickly. Yugi hesitated again, a little longer this time.

"I felt like I was being replaced." Yugi said. He wrapped his arms around himself. "That's kinda how I felt about mom when you first married Seigyoku, then I got over that…but after Seimei was born, I thought you were replacing me too." He hugged himself tighter and squeezed his eyes shut. "I became bitter and felt so unwanted…I was scared that I wouldn't mean as much to you." Tears streamed down his face. He heard Yami rummaging through the drawers, then heard his footsteps approach him, and felt him sit down on the bed beside him.

"Yugi," Yami said as he wrapped his arms around his son. Yugi almost immediately took to Yami and wrapped his own arms around him to bring himself closer. "You were never pushed aside in my heart for anyone. You are my only son and nothing in this world could change how much I love you, not even Seimei. I love you both equally…and Seigyoku too."

"But," Yugi asked in a trembling voice. "If you had to choose between me and Seimei…" He trailed off. Yami hugged Yugi tighter.

"I couldn't, Yugi." He put his finger under Yugi's chin and raised his gaze. "I love you both too much; losing either one of you would kill me from the inside out." He gently brushed away Yugi's tears wit his thumb.

"I'm sorry," Yugi whimpered. Yami said nothing .He stared at Yugi, a furious debate going through his mind. Finally, he sighed.

"There's a punishment Seigyoku wanted me to try," Yami stated calmly. Yugi's eyes widened as he looked up at his father. "I think I'm going to give it a try."

XXXXXX

Seigyoku slowly sipped at the coffee she just made. She looked out the window of her motel room, seeing only her car (a magenta corvette) and the night sky. The motel was only about twenty blocks from her home. _"Does he even miss me right now?"_ she thought.

"Mommy?" Seigyoku turned to her daughter. Seimei was in bed, running her small fingers through her short hair; it only fell about three inches from her shoulders. "Where's daddy? And Yugi?" she asked. "Why did we leave?" Seigyoku frowned and sighed at her daughter's questions. She got up and sat on the bed next to her daughter, then pulled her into her lap. Seimei looked up at her mother.

"Mommy and daddy are fighting right now." Seigyoku said. "And…I left because sometimes adults get over arguments better if they're not around the person they're arguing with." Seimei blinked.

"When will we go back home?" she asked.

"Whenever daddy called and says the argument is over." Seigyoku forced herself to smile comfortingly. It didn't affect Seimei.

"When will daddy call?" She stood in her mother's lap, trying to get a closer look of her eyes. Seigyoku frowned.

"I don't know, sweetie," she said, wrapping her arms around Seimei. "I don't know."

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That's another thing I hate to hear parents say. "We love you both equally." That's a bigger lie than the stork! Trust me, if they had to choose, they **_WOULD_** choose! I can't say who they would choose, since its personal opinion and all, but I usually think they would go for the younger…or youngest if they have more than two. Makes my skin crawl whenever my parents would say that. I told my mom she was lying the first time she told me and my bro that….in turn, she got me a psychiatrist. Anyways; let me know what you thought of this chapter and if there's any way I can approve. Love you my fans! Love you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Aftermath**

Marik sighed as he exited his bedroom. He had just gotten out of the shower after coming home from work. Now, he was headed to Malik's room and knocked before entering. Malik sat up in bed and turned his gaze away from his father expecting a harsh lecture. It surprised him when Marik just sat on the bed next to him and put one arm around him.

"Dad…?" Malik asked, looking up at him. Marik didn't answer right away.

"Son," Marik finally said. "I think it's time I told you everything." Malik blinked. He turned toward his dad.

"About what, dad?" he asked. Marik sighed.

"Son, do you remember your mother?" Marik looked at his son. Malik looked down, thinking really hard.

"Sorta," he said. "I mean it's kinda fuzzy…" He trailed off. Marik frowned. He sat up and pulled Malik closer.

"Malik, you're mother isn't dead," Marik admitted. Malik said nothing. "She walked on me and you when you were three." He paused for a moment. "I didn't tell you the truth because I was afraid, that if she did come back, you would hate her." He looked over at Malik, who seemed more sad than angry.

"I kinda knew she wasn't dead, dad." Marik looked down at Malik staring at him with both fear and confusion. Before Marik could ask, Malik continued. "After Yugi tried to bring back his mother's spirit, he said he could really feel her energy everywhere he went; so I figured I should try it. Yugi and I tried one night while you were at work." He paused, tears filling his eyes. "It didn't work; I didn't feel anything. That's when I started to wondered if you had been lying to me…I thought about confronting you, but with what? So instead, I kept my mouth shut, hoping you would tell me sooner or later." A sob escaped him. "I'm sorry dad!" He threw his arms around Marik. Marik was still in shock from what he just heard. He looked down at his son, sympathy immediately consuming him. He slowly wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.

"It's okay son," he said. "It's okay…"

XXXX

After Malik had stopped crying, he and Marik still remained in each other arms. Malik looked up at his father; he was staring into the space, his eyes were emotionless. Malik couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Dad…?" Malik spoke up.

"Hm?" Marik looked down at his son, only to meet slightly fearful eyes. He sighed and gave Malik a quick hug. "I'm thinking about how much I fucked up your life." Malik frowned and sat up.

"Aw, dad. You didn't…" He fell silent; Marik raised an eyebrow. "Screw up my life. I mean, it's not like I'm emotionally scarred or anything." He looked down at his hands. Marik smiled weakly at him. He ran his fingers through Malik's sand-colored hair and gently kissed him on the forehead. Malik was a bit surprised by this action. He wasn't used to his father showing compassion. Marik smiled at him.

"Forgive me?" he asked.

"There's nothing to forgive, dad." Malik smiled. "You did what you thought was best." Marik smiled again. He gave Malik one last hug before heading for the door. He turned out the lights as went.

"_I like this compassion thing,"_ Marik thought as he headed to his bedroom. _"It works better."_

XXXX

Malik turned onto his stomach as he slept; he sighed softly. His bedroom window opened with a small click as a small gust of wind blew. Malik shivered, pulling the covers around him tighter. Almost immediately after doing that, he began to feel hot. He shifted uncomfortingly. The heat began to travel to his pace; he back to sweat. The heat seemed to be settling into his skin; he let out a small whimper. The amazing warmth eventually woke him up, causing him more pain than before.

"_What's wrong with me?"_ he thought. He tried rolling his shoulders, assuming it was muscle pain, but only made the burning worse. He sat up in bed. _"Maybe I should get dad…"_ he wondered. He started to crawl to the edge of the bed. Suddenly, the pain increased ten fold. A weak cry of pain came from his lips as he fell over. He held his shoulders in pain. He tried to call out for Marik but it didn't work. _"Please come dad…"_ he begged mentally. The burning just kept increasing with every minute, maybe second. Another whimper slipped out. Breathing became difficult and he shivered, despite the heat on his back.

"Dad…" he called out in a ragged voice. Malik wasn't sure how loud he had said it, but hoped Marik had heard him.

XXXX

Marik awoke from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked at his digital alarm clock. One thirty-two a.m. in bright red shined at him. He huffed and turned onto his side, trying to get comfortable. However, he still couldn't go back to sleep; he had this weird feeling in his stomach. He looked back at the clock, seeing that he had been laying there for five minutes. He sat up in bed, lacing all his fingers together and resting his elbows on his knees in thought.

"_What's this feeling?" _he asked himself mentally. It was a sick feeling that seemed to squeeze his stomach playfully. He sighed, slightly aggravated. He looked up at his closed door. _"Maybe I should go check on Malik."_ he thought, wondering what his stomach had to do with his son. Shaking his head at himself, he grabbed his robe and put on his slippers then headed for Malik's room. Thoughts of how ridiculous he was filled his mind as he walked down the hall. _"He's probably sleeping."_ he thought.

"Dad…"

Marik's heart leaped into his throat. He did not like the way that sounded. He quickly ran to Malik's room and opened the door. Malik was huddled over in pain, grasping both his shoulders tightly.

"Malik!" Marik called out worriedly. He rushed over to him and tried to help him sit up. As soon as he touched him, Malik gasped; the burning stopped. Marik heard him gasp and wasn't sure if he hurt him or not. "Malik?" he asked worried. Malik looked up at him; still gasping. There were tears in his eyes.

"Dad…" he whispered. "It hurts…"

"What does?" Marik asked

"My back…" Malik whined. "It burns!" Marik slowly pulled up Malik's shirt, trying not to put him in anymore pain. His eyes widened in horror at what he saw. There defiantly burns on Malik's back, but unlike the ones on Yugi's chest, these didn't make an X. Instead, they made more of a cross. Once burn strip when from the bottom on his neck to the waistband of his pants and the other was right in the middle, going across. Swallowing nervously, Marik put Malik's shirt down and tried to help him out of bed.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Malik answered, looking at his father worriedly. What Marik did next surprised Malik; he picked him up bridal style and carried him to his own bedroom. He put Malik on his bed and told him to lie down on his stomach. Malik obeyed and watched his father disappeared into the bathroom. Malik looked around the room; he had never really been in his father's room before. He had always been told it was 'off limits', and he could see why. His father had several stacks of papers and two filing cabinets in his room. The papers were everywhere, yet neatly stacked; messy, but organized. He looked towards the bathroom again when he heard his father's footsteps. Marik was holding a bottle of lotion. He sat on the bed next to Malik and raised his shirt.

"This is similar to the stuff I gave Yugi," he explained as he opened it. "Only a bit stronger." He began to rub some on Malik's burns. Malik hissed in pain and balled his fists tightly. Eventually, he got used to it. He occupied himself by looking around his father's room, seeing if he could find anything else that was interesting…all he say was more paperwork.

"I didn't know being a doctor required so much paperwork." he said.

"You have no idea," Marik said with a huff. "First, you have to get all the personal information to start a file, then you have to check with the insurance. If it's all covered, great. If it's only partly covered, you have to explain to the patient what is covered; and they nod their head like they understand. After the surgery, they wanna know why the cost is do high and you waste your breath explaining it again, and they go on and on about how you cheated them and they'll sue."

"What if they don't have insurance?" Malik asked, already smiling at the sarcastic tone in his father's voice.

"Those are the best cases," Marik said. "Most hospitals won't take you if you don't have any and the ones that do usually aren't very good…but mine is an exception." He sighed. "The paper work is always fun."

"So," Malik continued. "What do you do?"

"We try to help them get insurance before we do the surgery, but if we can't then we'll have to give them the big bill." Marik sighed. "And if that happens, we have a chance of going to court charged with 'illegal actions'." Marik rolled his eyes at his own words. Malik giggled.

"So it's defiantly not the patients keeping you there?" he asked.

"I'm not a doctor if I don't have patients," Marik reminded with a smile. "But they are one of the low percentages."

"It's the money?"

"Yep," Marik paused for a moment. "After a while, you kinda get sick of hearing your patients' complainants." Malik giggled again.

"What's your favorite kind of surgery?"

"Harvest," Marik answered. Malik fell into a confused silence. "Organ donation surgery," Marik explained. "There's a time-limit to get the organs out; it gives me a rush." Malik smiled. Marik did as well and put Malik's shirt down. "There," he said. He closed the bottle and Malik sat up with a sigh.

"Thanks dad," he said. Marik smiled. He wrapped one arm gently around Malik's shoulders and hugged him, giving him another kiss on the forehead. Malik giggled softly.

"I love you son," Marik whispered to him. Malik looked up at him in slight surprise. He had known this was true, but hearing felt better. He smiled.

"I love you too dad!" He hugged him tightly. Marik smiled.

"Come on," he said. "I have to get back to bed. I have work tomorrow." Malik nodded; he started to get off of Marik's bed, but Marik stopped him. "You can stay with me tonight." Malik smiled widely.

"Thanks dad." he said, crawling in bed. Marik only smiled. They both crawled into bed and fell asleep.

XXXX

Marik was in a good mood the next morning, but he wasn't about to show it as he walked down the hall of the hospital. The last thing he needed was for the interns to kiss up to him. He looked over his papers and saw he had patient waiting in an appointment room. Thankfully that room was on his current floor. He headed for the room and opened it with his back, since he was more focused on the papers on his clipboard. When he looked up to see which of his patients it was, he nearly died from shock.

"Mrs. Mouto!" he said. Seigyoku and Seimei looked up at him.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Nothing," Marik said, quickly covering his tracks. "I'm just surprised to see you." Seigyoku blinked, even more confused.

"You said you wanted to see Seimei after a few days."

"Right," Marik said. He walked over to the examination table and looked over Seimei. "Is your head bothering you?" Seimei shook her head, giving no verbal reply. It was then Marik notice the sadness in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Sorry," Seigyoku said. "She's just been a little bit down lately."

"Has anything been bothering her?" Marik asked, turning to Seigyoku. He already knew the answer, but Seigyoku didn't know that.

"I miss daddy!" Seimei said, glaring lightly at her mother.

"I know sweetie," Seigyoku said, stepping towards her. "But―!" A knock at the door interrupted her. Marik opened it; two nurses were there.

"Sorry to interrupt," the blonde said.

"But some strange case just arrived," The brunette said.

"Some boy fainted during a baptism." The blonde replied. Marik blinked.

"I'll be there in a minute." he informed. They both nodded.

"Maybe he saw the light," the brunette whispered, both laughing as they walked off. Seigyoku gave a look of concern as the nurses walked off, joking with other religious puns.

"_There's no way…"_ she thought nervously.

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This chapter was basically to show how the characters are changing. You saw in the last chapter Yami was becoming more strict with Yugi; now you got a taste of how Marik is lightening up with Malik. Do you know how hard it is to type a conversation between Marik and Malik? You really have to watch the L's and throw the reader off if you're not careful! I read this chapter over several times, making sure I didn't screw up anywhere….but I'm bad at correcting my own work….Well, let me know what you guys think! Lots of love!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: A Story Untold**

Yami stood in a daze; staring at Yugi in the bed, wondering why this kept happening to him. The preacher was standing next to him.

"Mr. Mouto," he said.

"I don't want to hear it," Yami interrupted. The preacher frowned.

"Mr. Mouto please," the preacher tried again. "I've had reactions like this before." Yami looked at him suspiciously.

"You've had people faint during their baptism?" he asked. The preacher fell silent. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Not exactly, but somewhat similar…" The door opened and Marik stepped inside.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Mr. Mouto." Marik said as he walked over to Yugi's bed.

"I know," Yami said. "And I wish we would."

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Ishtar," the preacher greeted. Marik only glanced at him and said nothing. He looked over Yugi and found nothing wrong.

"He's just asleep as far as I can tell," Marik concluded.

"He won't wake up," Yami said. Marik fell silent.

"You've tried everything?" Marik asked. Yami nodded. Marik sighed. "I'm afraid there's really nothing I can do." He looked at Yami. "I'll come back later or page me if he wakes up." Yami nodded again. Marik headed for the door, but it opened before he reached it, it opened and Malik smiled at him.

"Hi dad," he said. "School let out early today."

"Ah," the preacher said. "The sin-child."

"What'd he call me?" Malik asked confused. Marik gently put a hand on Malik's shoulder and guided him out the room, glaring t the preacher as he went. When they were out the door, Yami turned to the preacher.

"You can leave now," he said. The preacher stared at him, and started to protest, but ended up nodding.

"I'll pray for you." he said as he left. Yami huffed when he was gone, continuing to stare at his son. Marik then came back in, with Malik.

"I hate that bastard," he muttered. "That's why we don't go to church. Because Catholic preachers think they're better than everyone else." Malik said nothing. Marik looked back at Yami. "We need to discuss something Mr. Mouto." Yami blinked.

"About?"

"Our sons…and maybe our families." Yami looked at him curiously. Marik sighed before beginning. "You believe in ghosts, so I'll assume you believe in reincarnation as well." Yami's look became confused. "At my son's age, I had a bit of a gothic spell too. I remember reading all kinds of legends about Gods, Spirits, and other unearthly things. One legend interested more tan others."

"It was about the God of Amity." Malik explained. "He married the Goddess of Revenge. Together they had son, the God of Hatred. Not long after his birth, the two Gods began fighting. It was unclear of what the argument was over but somehow the son was involved. The parents fought desperately over him and soon the Amity God hired a protector for his son, the Goddess of Happiness. She did her best to protect the son, but at one point, the Goddess of Revenge kidnapped the son and left him with a mark of despair; on his chest was a branded X."

Yami glanced at Yugi; he wasn't about to start believing this.

"The Amity God then banished the Goddess of Revenge and easily forgave the Goddess of Happiness for her mistake." Malik continued. "Soon, they fell in love and had a daughter, the Goddess of Love. The new lovers hired another protector for their kids, in case the Goddess of Revenge would come back. They chose the God of Trust. For several years, everything went fine. However, the Goddess of Revenge came back. She tried to kidnap the son, but got into a battle with the Trust God. She easily won and left a branded mark of failure on his back. She took the son and was able to get a hold of the new wife and daughter as well. When the God of Amity found out, he demanded his family back. The Goddess of Revenge promised all their safety, if he committed suicide. She tossed him a blade and, without hesitation, he did so. She died as well, since her own energy was coming from his. The rest of the family was left to grieve." Yami stared at them long and hard. Malik couldn't help but feel stupid at the moment.

"You really want me to believe all that?" he asked. Malik nodded. "Do you have proof this is all taking place?" Malik hesitated to answer.

"Uhm," he started. "You saw the burns on Yugi's chest and…uhm…a cross appeared on my back last night…"

"Question," Yami spoke up. "How come everyone else has been hurt as well?" Malik hesitated to answer.

"Well, if you are the reincarnation of the God of Amity, it only makes since that your friends would be hurt." Malik explained.

"This is ridiculous," Yami muttered as he turned away from them.

"Mr. Mouto," Marik said, taking a step forward. "Not everything can be logically explained; I had to learn that in my profession. There are miracles and unexplained tragedies." They room was silent. Yami looked at his sleeping son.

"_There's no way…"_ he thought.

"Mr. Mouto," Marik said. Yami looked at him. "I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but your wife is here." Yami eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open in shock. "She's in the room down the hall, the door's open." Yami was still for a few seconds.

"Thank you!" He told Marik before he ran out the room. Marik watched him go and sighed.

"I'm too nice," he muttered. Malik smiled and hugged him.

"It's okay," he said. "I like you that way!"

XXXX

Yami calmed himself when he saw the open door. He would pass by casually as if he didn't see them or know they were there, and pray that Seimei saw him and would call out for him. He took a deep breath and began to walk. His heart began to race and he held his breath.

"Daddy!" he heard her call. Yami smiled and released his breath.

"_Thank you…"_ he thought. He turned back around and put on his best confused face as he looked into the room. Seimei's smile grew bigger, while Seigyoku's look seemed to be say 'What are the odds?'. "Hey princess!" he said as he walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back.

"Daddy…" she said. "I missed you…" Her voice quivered.

"I missed you too…" Yami eye's filled with tears and he couldn't stop them from falling. The two stayed in their tight embrace for a few moments before rising. Seimei saw the tears in her father eyes and gently wiped them away with her small hands. Yami smiled at her. "Listen," he said. "Mommy and I need to talk, why don't you go meet Yugi in his room?" Seimei blinked.

"Is big brother alright?" she asked. Yami nodded.

"He's just tired," He gently picked Seimei up and put her on the floor. She smiled at him before running out the door to Yugi's room. After she left, Yami shut the door and turned to Seigyoku. She looked away from him. "C'mon Sei," he begged stepping closer to her. "It's been almost two weeks."

"And what?" she asked, looking at him.

"I miss you," Yami said. "You and only you."

"You didn't miss your daughter?" she asked seriously.

"Of course!" Yami said, raising his voice only slightly. "Please Sei, give me another chance. I even miss that cat of yours." Seigyoku smiled weakly.

"I think Kiwi misses you too." she said. Yami smiled. He walked over to her, trapping her against the wall. She looked up at him. "Yami…" she whispered. He closed up the remained space with a kiss. At first, that's all it was…then Yami heard Seigyoku moan in the back of her throat. He couldn't resist slipping his tongue into her mouth. She gripped the sleeve of his shirt, meaning to push him off, but only succeeded in brining him closer. He moved down her neck, kissing her skin softly. "Yami…" she said barely above a whisper. "Stop…"

"Are you going to come back home?" he asked, standing up straight. She looked away, hesitating to answer. Yami then pressed his body against hers and slowly ran his fingertips up her clothed thigh. A light blush appeared on her face and she gasped when he reached her crotch.

"Okay!" she said with a breath, pushing him off just far enough so she could get away. "I'll come home…" Yami smiled at her, partly because her blush was still present. "But I'm still mad at you!"

"Kay," Yami said, giving her one more kiss. She smiled weakly.

"Let's go check on the kids…" she said, changing the subject. She head for the door; Yami smiled. He grabbed her before she opened the door.

"Tonight…" he whispered in a seductive voice. His hot breath on her ear made her shiver. Yami smiled, and opened the door for her. She smiled too, and walked out, Yami following.

XXXX

When they got back to Yugi's room, Yami explained to Seigyoku the story Malik had told him.

"Weird," she said. "Do you believe it?"

"No," Yami said. "This all can be explained."

"How?" she asked. Yami hesitated to answer.

"I'll let you know when I find out," Seigyoku slapped her forehead.

"Genius…" she muttered. She looked back at Yami. "So what did you do while I was gone?" Yami smiled.

"Everything you wanted me to," he said. "I fixed everything that you wanted, cleaned the house; everything."

"Made sure everything was perfect, huh?"

"Yep."

"Big brother's waking up!" Seimei said excitedly. Yami and Seigyoku rushed to Yugi's bedside. Yugi groaned before he opened his eyes.

"Dad?" he asked as he sat up.

"Right here," Yami said. Yugi turned to him.

"Mrs. Seigyoku!" he said in a surprised tone. She smiled.

"Hi there," She greeted. "Feeling better?"

"Yes ma'am," Yugi answered. She blinked at him. Yami smiled at her face.

"What happened?" she asked Yugi. "Did you hit a rock on the way down?" Yami chuckled.

"He's respectful," Yami said. "Just like you wanted him to be." Seigyoku gave him an unsure look."

"Did you miss us big brother?" Seimei asked. Yugi slowly nodded. A worried look came upon Seigyoku's face."

"Hey Yami," she said. "Would you mind getting me a soda?"

"Not at all," he said.

"Can I got with daddy?" Seimei asked.

"Sure," Yami said, picking her up. When they were out of the room, Seigyoku turned to Yugi.

"Alright alien, give me back my step-son!" she said jokingly. Yami just blinked at her. "Yugi…" she said sympathetically.

"Ma'am?" he asked, looking up.

"Please don't do that," she asked with a sigh. "You make me feel old."

"I'll get in trouble if I don't," Yugi whispered. Seigyoku frowned.

"What happened Yugi?" she asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad got really depressed after you left; he even called Seto and Joey to talk. Then later, after I got home from school, he told me everything…even about nine years ago. Seigyoku swallowed hard, remembering everything. "I began to feel really guilty and told him I brought mom's ghost back, Malik helped me out. Dad got really mad and started to blame me for you leaving."

"Oh Yugi," Seigyoku said. "I'm sure he―!"

"He really did!" Yugi protested. Seigyoku fell silent. "He punished me for it too. I'm grounded and I can't see Malik…" He trailed off, looking down nervously. Seigyoku knew he was hiding something. She looked over her shoulder at the door, making sure no one was coming.

"Did he beat you, Yugi?" she asked in a whisper. Yugi blushed a deep red and turned away from her.

"Every night since you've been gone…" he whispered. Seigyoku gently wrapped her arms around Yugi and gave him a gently hug.

"It's okay," she said with a smile. "It's no big deal." She got closer and whispered "I'll make sure he doesn't tell anyone…"

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Okay, first off the legend Malik explained is based off I gothic legend from one of many gothic books I have. I **DID NOT** copy it, I merely based it off of the story.

Second, I have a friend who was born out of wed-lock and every time her parents run into their old preacher, he calls him the 'sin-child'. I live in a very small town…so you tend to run into people a lot. So that covers one explanation…..

Third, the thing about all Catholic preachers being stuck-up isn't true…Like the preacher I just describe, he's the stuck up one. Kinda inspired the preacher character in this story. So if you're Catholic don't hate me; I have nothing against the religion, honest! But I did say religion would have a semi-importance in this story…I'm sure you can see that unfolding. Hope to hear from you guys!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Realization**

Marik searched through his paperwork in his office, looking for the right forms. Malik was sitting in one of the chairs, playing a game on his cell phone. He looked up at his father.

"Mr. Mouto thinks we're crazy," he said.

"So?" Marik inquired. Malik fell silent again. Marik sat at this desk and looked at his son; he sat there with a worried look on his face…so many questions written in his eyes. Marik sighed and faced him at his desk. "Yugi can't stay punished forever," he reminded.

"I know…" Malik answered softly. He sighed.

"Son," Marik said, getting Malik's attention. Malik knew what he was going to say next.

"Did mom leave because of me?" Malik asked nervously. Marik stared at him for a moment then got up and walked over to Malik's chair. He kneeled down slightly, his face even with Malik's.

"Mom left because she wanted to," he said gently. "Not because of you; not because of me." Malik said nothing. Marik studied him, searching for guilt of any kind. When he didn't find any, he slowly wrapped his arms around Malik, hugging him tightly. Malik rested his head on his father's shoulder. He slowly joined his father in the embrace. Malik realized his dad's office blinks weren't closed; everyone could see what his father was doing. Marik came to the same conclusion and didn't care. People could say what they wanted; his son was his main priority.

XXXX

After Yugi was discharged from the hospital and all the Moutos were home, Yami helped Seigyoku unpack; Kiwi constantly getting in his feet. Seigyoku giggled, as Yami moved him gently with his foot.

"I told you he missed you." she said. The orange tabby meowed loudly, trying to get Yami's attention. Yami kneeled down and gently petted him on the head.

"I can see that," he said. The tabby began to purr loudly. Seigyoku smiled as she put the empty suitcase away. She laid down on the bed, sighing to herself. Yami stood up and laid down beside her.

"I missed my bed," she said. "Motel's suck." Yami laughed. He kissed her gently on the forehead, wrapping one of his arms around her waist to bring her closer.

"The house was so quiet without you and Seimei…" he whispered. Kiwi meowed as he joined them, trying to walk in between them. "Yes, and you too." Yami said to Kiwi.

"I'm sure you spent some time with Yugi," Seigyoku said. Yami said nothing. Seigyoku looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"I broke a promise to Yugi," Yami said with a sigh. "About three weeks ago I promised I'd spend a whole weekend with him. That was the weekend after you left…." He sighed again, putting a hand over his eyes.

"Well, you can make it up to him," Seigyoku suggested.

"Not now," Yami said. "He's grounded."

"So I heard," Seigyoku said in sort of a disapproving tone. Yami looked at her. He turned onto his side, facing her.

"What?" he asked.

"Yugi," she said. "He seems so scared…"

"He's not," Yami said. "I did what you told me and it worked." Seigyoku said nothing. She cuddled closer to Yami and closed her eyes.

"I really missed you guys," she whispered. Yami blinked, then smiled as he held her tightly. He kissed her softly, before closing his eyes as well…

XXXX

Yugi sighed hopelessly as he turned onto his side in his bed. He was grounded to the max; meaning all he was allowed to do was eat and sleep. His father had taken away all of his books, not trusting him with anything. He had his cell phone, but wasn't really allowed to talk on it. He sighed again, turning onto his back. His cell phone began to vibrate; he looked at it. Slowly he got up, picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. It was Malik. Yugi looked at his door, which was open; he wasn't allowed to close it when he was grounded. Swallowing nervously, he took his phone and ran into the bathroom, looking the door. He answered it.

"Hello?" he breathed.

"Yugi?" Malik asked.

"Yeah," Yugi smiled.

"Listen, can we meet in the park?" Malik asked.

"Malik, I can't!" Yugi stated. "I'm grounded!"

"I know! I am too!" Malik said. "Don't worry, it won't be long; I promise." Yugi hesitated to answer. "Please Yugi…" Malik begged. Yugi took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said. "But not long!"

"Gotcha!" Malik agreed. "See you there!" He hung up; Yugi did the same grasping his phone tightly. Sighing, he exited the bathroom and snuck out the house; his bedroom window was locked, so he had to sneak downstairs and out the front door.

XXXX

Yugi nervously stood in the park, under the tree where he and Malik had stood before.

"Hi Yugi!" Malik said smiling as he revealed himself. Yugi faced him.

"Make it quick," Yugi said, looking around nervously. Malik gave him a weird look.

"What?" he asked. "Are you being stalked?"

"No!" Yugi said. "Just…tell me what you wanted to say!"

"Okay," Malik said. Taking a deep breath, he told Yugi the same story he told Yami; when he was finished he looked at Yugi. "Do you believe it?"

"Yeah," Yugi said nervously. "You left out all the details, though."

"I know," Malik said. "But I didn't want to tell your dad that." They were silent for a few minutes. "Can you match up and of the details?"

"Yeah," Yugi repeated. "When I was five, Seto was shot and no one could explain it."

"Near the heart?" Malik asked. Yugi nodded. "The first war between the God of Amity and the Goddess of Revenge; he was shot in the chest by an Arrow of Destruction."

"Why Seto and not my dad?" Yugi asked.

"I'm not sure," Malik said. "Maybe; for you dad, the big part is last." Yugi swallowed nervously. "Anything else?" Malik asked. Yugi nodded.

"Joey in that car accident; he had internal bleeding and a broken ankle," Yugi looked at the ground.

"Second war," Malik whispered. "Goddess of Revenge broke the Amity God's ankle to subdue him and stabbed him in the stomach with the same blade he would use to commit suicide."

"And Seimei?" Yugi added. "Her aneurism…"

"Third attack," Malik said. "Goddess of Revenge slicked the back of the Goddess of Love's neck." They were both silent.

"What next?" Yugi asked nervously. Malik thought about it.

"Nothing…" Malik answered. Yugi looked at him curiously. "Suicide is next." Yugi swallowed nervously.

"We have to leave!" Yugi said.

"What?!" Malik asked, practically shouting.

"We have to leave!" Yugi repeated. "I don't want dad to get hurt!"

"You mean like, run away?" Malik asked. Yugi nodded. "We can't do that!"

"We have to!" Yugi stepped closer to Malik. "Your dad might get hurt too!" Malik swallowed nervously. He looked at the ground deep in thought.

"It'll hurt them more if we leave…" he said.

"They might die if we don't…" Yugi argued. He looked at his watch. "Let's go back home and think about this. If you decide to come, meet me back here by midnight." Malik only nodded. "I won't be mad if you don't join me," Yugi finished. He turned to leave, but Malik grabbed his wrists and pulled him behind the nearby tree.

"I'm not sure what my decision is yet," Malik said. "But just in case…" He pulled Yugi closer, slowly closing his eyes. Yugi blushed, but did the same. Their lips met softly, both lost in each other's arms. When it ended, Malik hugged him tightly. Yugi returned the hug. Slowly, the pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes.

"Bye," Yugi whispered.

"Bye," Malik whispered. They both took off for home in opposite directions.

XXXX

Yugi snuck back into the house and to his room; a sigh of relief escaping him as he threw himself on the bed. He closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come…but his heart was still racing from the kiss. _"Why does it feel different?"_ Yugi asked himself mentally. _"It's not our first time, but it…"_ he trailed off. _"Maybe it's goodbye…"_

"Yugi!" his father's voice called from the doorway. Yugi jumped, nearly falling off the bed. He quickly recovered and faced his dad.

"Sir?" he said, fearing he had been found out.

"Let's go," Yami said. "It's time for dinner." Yugi got off his bed and headed for the door, his gaze on the floor. When he reached the doorway, he was surprised to see his father still standing in the doorway. He looked up at him; Yami stared at him. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Yugi asked.

"You look extremely pale," Yami placed his hand on Yugi's forehead. "Are you feeling alright?" Yugi nodded; his father's eyes never tore away from his. They stared at each other for a moment. Yami removed his hand from Yugi's forehead and let him pass. Yugi walked to the top of the stairs until Yami stopped him again. "Son," he said. Yugi turned and faced him. He sighed as he walked over to him. "You know I love you, right?" Yugi stared at his father; he hadn't said something like that since the day before Seigyoku left. Yugi looked at the floor and nodded. Yami frowned at this and gently lifted Yugi's gaze to his own with knuckle. He gently kissed Yugi's forehead and hugged him with his free arm. Yugi whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. Yami blinked at him "Yugi?"

"I'm sorry…" he whispered. He whimpered again.

"You were already forgiven," Yami said. "There's no need to cry anymore…" He pulled Yugi's face up and wiped his tears away. Yugi still had that apologetic look. Yami sighed and started to go downstairs. "Come on, let's go eat." Yugi hesitated, then followed his father. Yugi didn't eat much at the table; he really just nibbled at his food.

"So Yugi, how's school going?" Seigyoku asked as she placed another plate on the table and put a hand on Yugi's back. She didn't realize she surprised him and made him jump. He nearly knocked over his glass, but he caught it with both hands.

"N-Normal," he said as he set his glass back up.

"That's good," Seigyoku answered.

"How's my little girl doing?" Yami asked.

"I'm the best in the class!" Seimei declared proudly.

"That's my girl!" Yami said. After that, the conversation stayed away from Yugi; he was thankful for that. After dinner, he back to wash the dishes. He felt a weight on his leg and looked down; Seimei was hugged his leg. She smiled up at him.

"I missed you brother!" she said. Yugi said nothing. He let out a sigh and continued to with the dishes. He did his best to hide his slight annoyance. Seimei blinked, confused by his actions.

XXXX

"I'm worried," Seigyoku said as she sat on the edge of their bed. Yami looked at her from the bathroom.

"About what?" he asked slipping on his pajama shirt.

"Yugi!" Seigyoku said, making it sound obvious.

"He's fine." Yami said. "He's just―." A knock at the door interrupt him. "Come in," he said. The door opened slowly and Seimei stepped inside.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Seigyoku asked.

"Does Yugi hate me?" she asked, walking over to their bed.

"Why would you think that?" Yami asked, helping her onto the bed. He sat next to her.

"Because…" Seimei started. "He doesn't act like a brother."

"How does a brother act?" Seigyoku asked.

"Like Uncle Gohan treats you, mommy." Seimei answered, turning to her.

"Sweetie, Uncle Gohan and I get along because, when we were little, we were the only kids in our neck of the woods." she explained. "We kinda **had** to get along."

"You and Yugi have other friends," Yami said. "Plus, Yugi is a lot older than you. Your interests are too different." Seimei fell silent.

"Will Yugi ever like me?" she asked.

"Yugi already loves you." Yami said. "He may act like he doesn't, but he does."

"Really?" she asked. Yami smiled and nodded.

"I promise." He hugged Seimei tightly. However, Seimei still kept her worried look.

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Okay, I thought I should suggest Seimei's point of view for a moment. Yugi's got a lot of weight on his shoulders…poor guy. I just wanted to let you guys know that I started another fanfiction! It's called _Reflection_ and it's the story of how my friends' and my Yu-Gi-Oh OC characters met the Yu-Gi-Oh hero gang. Basically, it's one big romance story. You'll learn the bios of our OCs and see how they hooked up with our fav Yu-Gi-Oh guys! Check it out once I post it, I'll give you the title later. Hope to hear from you guys! Later!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Someone New and Old**

Yugi slowly inched his way downstairs, hoping not to make any noise. He gripped the arm straps of his backpack tightly. When he reached the door, he unlocked it gently, stepped out, locked the door again, and shut it quietly. Once he was off the porch, he ran down the street and to the park. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He arrived at the park and was so out of breath, he was sure he'd develop asthma. He looked at his watch; 11:45 p.m. He looked around and saw no signs of Malik. _"I just have to wait,"_ Yugi thought. He sat down on the ground, his back against the tree. Not once did sleep try to consume him as he waited. Finally, mid-night came around and Yugi stood up. _"Guess he's not coming…"_ Yugi thought grimly. He sighed and turned to leave, but froze when he heard a twig snap. He was afraid to turn around, fearing it was his father.

"Yugi? Is that you?" Yugi slowly turned at his name. A huge sigh of relief escaped him with Malik stepped closer to him.

"You scared me…" Yugi said.

"Sorry…" Malik said smiling slightly. They were both silent. "So where to?"

"I had down town in mind," Yugi said. "Maybe if we raise enough money we can buy a bus ticket or something." Malik blinked.

"Like, leave town?" Yugi nodded. Malik frowned. Yugi noticed this and faced him completely.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Malik didn't answer right away.

"I wasn't exactly planning on leaving town…" he said. They both fell silent.

"We'll figure something out," Yugi said smiling. Malik smiled as well. "We better get going." Malik nodded and they started walking.

XXXX

Yami yawned as he headed to Yugi's room. He was a bit surprised to see the door closed, since Yugi wasn't suppose to have it closed when he was grounded. Shrugging it off, Yami opened the door. "Time to get up son," he said. He almost died when he saw the empty bed. _"Maybe he's in the shower…"_ Yami thought, calming himself down. He walked over to Yugi's bathroom door and put his ear against it. He didn't hear any water running. "Yugi?" he called as he opened the door. It was empty and the tub was dry. With his mind set half-way to panic, Yami rushed downstairs and grabbed his cell phone off the living room coffee table. Before he could dial the number, he heard Seigyoku call for him in the kitchen. He turned and saw her coming to him.

"Look," she said, handing him a piece of paper. Yami took it and read over it.

"_Dear dad, I've decided to leave this letter so you wouldn't be confused. I've run away so I wouldn't cause as much trouble for you. I figured it was easier for me to leave while you were mad, that way it wouldn't hurt as much. I didn't do this because I'm mad at you or to get attention. I did this to protect you, dad. Please don't try looking for me; I don't want you to get hurt._

Yami read the letter over and over again. He turned to Seigyoku; she had a fearful look on her face. He folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. "Bring Seimei to school; meet me at the Police Station." he said as he grabbed his car keys.

"You just want me to stay here?" Seigyoku asked.

"We can't let Seimei see us panic." Yami said. "Besides she's still down from last night." Seigyoku slowly nodded in agreement. Yami gave her a quick kiss and headed out the door. As he drove to the Police Station, his heart was racing and his thoughts were running wild. Why did Yugi do this? Why didn't he come to him for help? Who was Yugi protecting him from? These were just a few questions that spun through his mind; they didn't let up he entered the Police Station. The receptionist at the desk looked up at him.

"Good morning, sir." she said. "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to report someone missing." Yami said, taking a deep breath. She blinked.

"And who would that be, sir?" she asked, grabbing a pen and paper.

"My son," Yami said. "Yugi Mouto." She wrote that down.

"How old?"

"Thirteen," She wrote that down.

"How long has he been missing?"

"I'm not sure," Yami said. "We all went to bed at ten and I went to wake him up for school at six, he wasn't in bed." The receptionist wrote all that down.

"Thank you sir." she said. "I'll report this to the chief and he'll be with you shortly." Yami nodded and took a seat in a chair off to the side. He kept his gaze on the floor, his thoughts arriving to higher levels of worry. He thought about all the murders and pedophiles out there…a shiver ran down his spine.

"Well this makes a lot more sense," Yami looked up at the voice. Marik just stared at him.

"Is Malik missing too?" Yami asked. Marik nodded. He sat down next to Yami. "Did you find a note?" Marik looked at him and shook his head.

"You?" Marik asked. Yami nodded. They both sighed. About an hour later, Seigyoku came and joined them.

"Did they talk to you yet?" she asked. Both shook their head. She sighed and sat down on the other side of Yami. "This is ridiculous!" she said. "Why aren't they talking to us?"

"Panicking won't help, Mrs. Mouto…"

"Helps me…" Seigyoku said.

"Heart attack…stroke…"

"Okay, okay!" Seigyoku said, holding up her hand to make Marik stop. "I get it…" They were silent once again, and they waited. Every one of their thoughts was worse than the last….

"Hello lady and gents," a voice greeted. They all looked up. A man smiled at them. He had green eyes and dark black hair that was tied back in a pony-tail. "Detective Duke Devlin at your service." They all stoop up.

"Yami Mouto," He shook hands with Duke. "This is my wife, Seigyoku." Duke and Seigyoku nodded at each other as a greeting.

"Marik Ishtar," he greeted, also with a nod. Duke returned it.

"Nice to meet you all," Duke stepped aside. "Please follow me to my office." They did so and once they were inside, Duke locked the door. Seigyoku, Yami, and Marik sat in the chairs in front of Duke's desk. Duke then sat down at his desk. "Thanks for coming and for being so calm like this," He smiled at them. "We could use more parents like you!" They said nothing. "Let's get started," He shuffled for some papers and pulled out a pen. "First, do you have any pictures with you of the missing boys?" Yami and Marik both took out their wallets and took out pictures of their sons. Duke took them. "Great," he commented. "Okay, now the next few questions are protocol, so try not to get mad at me." He paused, getting the pen ready. "Is your son involved with any gangs?"

"No," Yami and Marik answered in unison…unintentionally. Duke wrote as they spoke.

"Does he do drugs?"

"No," Again, in unison and unintentionally.

"Is he picked on at school?"

"No," Again…

"Is he abused?" Duke asked.

"Do you think we would be looking for them, if we were beating them?" Marik asked, in a rather calm matter but made his annoyance clear.

"Guess not," Duke said with a nervous smile. He continued. "Sexual correspondence?"

"Straight," Yami and Marik answered in unison. Seigyoku secretly glared at them.

"Any birthmarks or tattoos?" Yami and Marik shook their heads. "Anything else I should know?" They shook their heads again. "Okay then," Duke turned to his computer. "I'll just log in their profiles…" He scanned their pictures and typed in the information Yami and Marik had given him. "And hit 'enter'." He did so and blinked at the results. "Whoa," he said. Yami and Marik looked up.

"What is it?" Yami asked.

"There a case similar to both of yours," Dude said. "But it's six months old…" He looked at them. "Are you sure your sons are run-a-ways?"

"Yes," Yami said. "He left…a note…" He took it out of his pocket and handed it to Duke, who read it over quickly.

"What about you?" he asked. Marik shook his head.

"Malik left nothing…" They all fell silent. Duke looked back at the computer.

"Perhaps I should call the father…" he said. "He could come down here and we could compare cases." Everyone was silent again. Yami couldn't imagine Yugi gone for more than six months; hell, he could barely stand Yugi being gone now. He looked up at Duke and opened his mouth to speak.

"Call him," Marik said, his gaze on the floor. Yami looked at him. Duke only nodded as he picked up the phone.

XXXX

The phone rang loudly from the kitchen. The only other thing that could be heard was the breath of the house's answer as he exhaled the smoke from his lit cigarette. He sighed as he stood, brushing off his blue jeans. His footsteps were soft as he passed his sleeping wife on the couch and entered the kitchen.

"Hello?" he said as he picked up the phone.

"Mr. Iware," Duke said. "We found other parents who—"

"I don't care!" he shouted. "I'm only worried about my son!"

"Mr. Iware please," Duke begged. "This could help us with your case." They were both silent.

"This better be worse my time!" He slammed the phone down and sat in a kitchen chair. He took one last puff of his cigarette before putting it out in the ash tray. _"Son…"_ he thought sadly. _"Come home…"_ Tears streamed down his face. _"I'm so sorry…"_

XXXX

Duke sighed as he hung up the phone. "He's on his way." he said. No one said anything. Duke looked over them, studying their expressions and body language. "Forgive me for intruding on your personal lives, but can any of you think of a motive for the boys to run away?" Neither said anything. "Were they punished or…"

"Yugi was grounded," Yami said softly.

"Malik as well," Marik admitted "But he seemed content with it.." Duke nodded.

"What about Yugi, Mr. Mouto?" He looked at Yami; who hesitated to answer.

"He was depressed," Seigyoku said, finally speaking up. "Very depressed; he would flinch even if we would just approach him and he was so scared to mess up on the littlest thing―!" She was interrupted by Yami grabbing her wrist. He inflicted no pain on her, but held it tightly.

"So he was intimidated," Duke concluded. "Exactly what kind of punishment did you practice?" Marik's eyes shifted to Yami. Yami hesitated to answer; debating whether or not to lie or tell the truth. He noticed Duke's expression had changed from kinda sociable to demanding and somewhat hateful. Yami swallowed nervously, knowing he was now suspected of child abuse; he could lose Yugi forever now, even if they did find him! Yami knew he'd better admit to what he'd done so…

"Detective Devlin, sir?" a feminine voice called from behind the door.

"Yes?" Duke called.

"Mr. Iware is here to see you." she said.

"Thank you," Duke called. They could hear departing footsteps. Duke turned to them. "Follow me," he said. He unlocked the door and walked back to the desk area. Yami and the others followed. "Mr. Iware, thank you for coming." Duke said as he approached a man and a woman. The man sent chills down Yami's spine; his deep brown eyes were filled with hatred and acrimony…no doubt caused from the stress of his missing son. His shoulder-length white hair was slightly ruffled. The woman standing next to him had short, dark green hair and light green eyes. Unlike her husband's bitterness, her eyes held more of a hopeless look. Yami glanced at Marik, who seemed to have done the dame; both wondering if they too would become bitter and hopeless if their sons were lost forever.

"This better be worth our time," Mr. Iware said.

"I'm sure it will be," Duke guaranteed, with his friendly visage. "The two families behind, the Moutos and Mr. Ishtar, both have sons that ran away like yours."

"Let me guess," Mr. Iware said, very annoyed. "They have similar characteristics?" Duke nodded. "Well Mr. Devlin," Mr. Iware continued. "I don't give a flying rat's ass about other families, so if this is all, I'm leaving." He turned and headed for the door.

"Bakura, wait!" his wife called out. He stopped, but didn't face her. "Please," she said in a trembling voice. "Let's try this…I want to know there's still hope…" Bakura turned around and slowly wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Its okay, Honoo." he said softly. "It's okay…" Yami took Seigyoku's hand and laced his fingers with hers; an act of silent comfort.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Image**

The thunder roared loudly and lightning flashed as the onslaught of heavy rain continued. Only two figures could be seen running through this depressing night. They ducked into an alley, breathing heard as they hid under an open banner. The two huddled together for warmth, knowing that it wouldn't help much. The shorter on coughed; this worried the taller, dark-skinned one and he gently put his hand on the forehead of the shorter. He could feel the immense fever forming. He hugged the smaller one tightly. Another flash of lightning made them both jump, as well as a crashing trashcan from behind them. They whirled around, almost afraid of what they would see. A lone figure stood at the end of the ally; none of his features were visible. Slowly, he began to walk; closer and closer he came. He stopped about two feet away from them. Another flash of lightning revealed his deep brown eyes.

"You shouldn't stay out here," he said, his voice both soft and sarcastic. "Your friend is already sick." Neither said anything. "Come with me," He began to walk away. Having no other choice, the two began to follow him. He led them to a side door of a small restaurant; when he opened it, a wave of heat surrounded them. They stepped inside, not used to the bright ceiling lights. They slowly adjusted, finally able to see who led them here. He had pure white, shoulder-length hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes. He wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, and black tennis shoes. "Hey boss!" he shouted. "I found some new ones!" Thundering footsteps came from behind a nearby door. A tall, muscular man entered. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a black leather vest and blue jeans covered by an apron tied around his waist. He also had black work boots and an American flag bandana covering his blonde hair. He smiled at the two teens.

"Well, well," he said. "What do we have here?" He ran his fingers through his tied back hair. "What are you names boys?" he asked. The two looked at each other. "Relax," he said, shrugging. "I ain't a cop."

"Malik Ishtar,"

"Yugi Mouto," He coughed. The blonde man smiled.

"What are you two doing out on a night like this?" he asked. Yugi and Malik said nothing. "You're right; it's none of my business." He turned his back to them. "Tell you what; I'm assuming you two have no where to go…I'm gonna let you work here." He paused for a moment and faced him again. "I'll provide you with a roof and food; all I ask for is work. Deal?" Yugi and Malik looked at each other, then slowly nodded. The man smiled. "The name's Keith," he said. "But around here you call me 'boss'. That's Ryou." The white-haired boy smiled. "He'll show you to your quarters." Keith smiled and started to leave. "Your shifts start soon." Once he was gone Yugi and Malik turned to Ryou.

"Come on," he said, leading them out another door. They entered a short hallway, with only a single door at the end. "Here we are," he said as he opened that door. The only things in the small room were two bunk beds on the opposing walls. Ryou walked over to the one of the left and climbed onto the top one. "This is where we sleep." Yugi and Malik walked over to the bunk bed on the right; Malik taking the top, Yugi taking the bottom. They put their backpacks at the end of their beds. "Do you have money in there?" Ryou asked, eyeing them.

"Yeah, why?" Malik asked.

"Keep it on you all the time," Ryou said. "Keith is only looking for a profit." There was a moment of silence. "What's your story?" Ryou asked.

"We ran away from home," Yugi said.

"I figured that out." Ryou said with a light chuckle. "I'm asking why."

"Oh…" Yugi said. He fell silent.

"Our dads wouldn't let us be together." Malik said quickly. "Ryou looked at them, smiling slightly.

"You're eloping?" he asked.

"No…" Yugi said, "Just getting away from our parents."

"We have more in common than we thought." Ryou said, chuckling slightly. Yugi and Malik blinked at him. "My father doesn't accept me either." He smiled at Yugi and Malik; they slowly returned the gesture. "C'mon," Ryou said, hopping off his bed. "We better start our shifts." Yugi and Malik got up as well, following Ryou to their work area.

XXXX

Mr. Iware lit up a cigarette as he glanced over his shoulder, out the window, into the pouring rain. Yami and Marik approached.

"Thanks for coming to see us," Yami said, also noticing the rain. Mr. Iware didn't answer. Marik decided to try.

"Detective Devlin left us alone to talk," he said. "Maybe we could find some things our sons had in common." He still didn't answer. "Mr. Iware…"

"Call me 'Bakura'," he said. "Yami," Yami looked up; Bakura looked at him. "Your son was gothic?" Yami nodded.

"So was mine," Marik informed. Bakura nodded once, he gaze going to the floor.

"He believed in those damned gothic legends and stories…" Bakura muttered. Yami and Marik weren't sure if he was asking or talking about his own son. He looked back at them. "Were they gay?" Yami and Marik froze, their eyes widening slightly. Bakura chuckled. "You told Duke they were straight, don't feel bad though. I did the same thing. We were all afraid someone would find out…" He laughed. "What did you do when **you** found out?"

"Told him I loved him no matter what!" Yami said defensively. Marik hesitated to answer. Bakura smiled at him.

"You punished him didn't you?" he asked. Marik said nothing. "Well, we know why yours ran away." Bakura blew out the smoke from his cigarette. "Do you have a clue, Mr. Mouto?" Yami looked at the floor.

"He was punished for…practicing Black Magic…" Yami whispered. Bakura blinked at him, then laughed loudly. Yami glared at him.

"Let me…Let me guess!" Bakura said, in between breaths of laughter. "You're both Catholic right?" Neither of them had to say a thing; Bakura knew the answer by the look on their faces. "Where are we?" he asked. "The 1600's? News flash; the 'magic' come with the clothes and the attitude!" He laughed lightly this time. "If you act like you're against it, they get deeper into it. However, if you accept it, they'll mature and grow out of it."

"And you know all this how?!" Marik asked angrily, tired of being laughed at. Bakura shrugged.

"Maybe because, for the past six months, I've literally gone over every single 'what if' in my mind…" He paused and looked over his shoulder, out the window again. "And I realized, in the future, who's going to care if my son was gothic? Who's gonna care if he's gay? Who's gonna really care if he practices all his little beliefs?" He looked back at Yami and Marik. "In the long run, no one is going to care." Bakura blew one last cloud of smoke before putting out his cigarette in the nearby ash tray. He leaned against the wall, the back of his head against it. He closed his eyes and smiled.

A small knock at the door made them turn. Seigyoku smiled as she and Honoo entered. "Guess Yugi, Malik, and Ryou are a lot alike." she said. Yami smiled at her and nodded. Honoo walked over to Bakura and hugged him. He put both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Did Duke say anything?" Seigyoku asked.

"No," Yami said with a sigh. "He said he'll pass their pictures around and see if he can find a trail…"

"That won't work," Bakura said. "Their kids, not murderers. No one's going to pay attention." Honoo looked up at him.

"You never know," she said. "Someone might…" Bakura frowned at her. He gently cuddled her comfortingly.

"Bakura," Marik said. "You never told us why Ryou ran away."

"You're right," Bakura said, smirking. "Forgive me." He took a deep breath. "When Ryou hit thirteen, it was like he switched personalities. At first I didn't really do anything, assuming he'd just get out of it, but his attitude and self-esteem got worse. I stepped in, but that didn't make it any better." He sighed. "One night, he was just gone. It was a normal as far as I remember." He sighed again. "I guess all our previous arguments just added fuel to the fire and he eventually got tired of it." Honoo hugged him tightly. Bakura kissed her softly, gently brushing her hair out of her face.

XXXX

"Yugi?" Malik asked. "Anyone home?" Yugi blinked and shook his head, snapping out of his daydreams.

"Huh?" Yugi said. Malik giggled.

"You're supposed to be washing dishes!" Malik said.

"Oh," Yugi said, blushing lightly. "Sorry…" He went back to his work. Malik only smiled at him as he put the dried dishes away.

"What time is it?" Malik asked.

"My watch is on the counter," Yugi said.

"You take your watch off to do the dishes?" Malik asked as he went to the counter.

"Yeah," Yugi answered.

"Isn't it waterproof?" Malik picked it up and looked at the time. 12:45 a.m.

"Yeah," Yugi repeated. "But I don't wanna wear it down." Malik only smiled at him.

"So," he said softly. "What do you think of this Keith guy?" Yugi shrugged.

"I can't say much," he answered. "He did offer us shelter and food." Yugi looked at Malik, who seemed a bit worried. "What?"

"Do you think our families miss us?" he asked.

"We've only been gone for a day," Yugi said.

"I've been gone for six months," Ryou said as he entered the kitchen.

"Don't you miss your parents?" Malik asked. Ryou pretended to think about it.

"Nope," he said. Yugi and Malik made a face.

"That's kinda sad…" Yugi said.

"What's the point of running away if you're going to miss them?" Ryou asked, leaning against the large refrigerator. "They're supposed to miss you, otherwise it defeats the purpose." He studied them both. "You guys are hiding something…" Ryou said. Yug and Malik swallowed nervously. "Tell me the truth, trust me Keith won't care." Yugi and Malik looked at each other.

"Have you ever heard of the Three Wars of Revenge?" Malik asked. Ryou nodded.

"Well," Yugi said. "We believe it's happening to me…" Ryou raised an eyebrow. "You see when I was younger my mother came back as a ghost and hurt my family; then Malik and I summoned her back—!"

"Stop," Ryou said. "I know where this is going. Let me guess, some of today's occurrences match up with details of the wars." Yugi and Malik nodded. "Okay," Ryou reached into his pocket and pulled out a digital camera. "If you're careful, you get tips from customers." They blinked at him. "Say 'cheese'." He took a picture of them. Yugi and Malik just stared at him.

"What was that for?" Malik asked. Ryou pulled the picture up the camera's screen.

"Oh shit!" he blurted out. Malik and Yugi walked over to him to see the picture. They all turned pale at the image. Yugi and Malik were staring at Ryou when he took the picture, but on the counter next to Yugi, Anzu's ghostly image was sitting on top of it, with her legs crossed, smiling for the picture.

"She used to sit on the kitchen counter like that after she and dad got married." Yugi whispered. They all looked at each other, then began quickly pushing each other to get out of the kitchen. Upon entering their bedroom, they slammed the door shut. "What's your story?" Yugi asked Ryou.

"Well," Ryou said. "Since we're all crazy, I believe I'm the God of Death's son, the God of War."

"I remember that one," Malik said. "The God of Death was very egotistic and made his son practically a clone of himself. He wanted him to be just like himself, but the son began to rebel, so he killed him."

"You really think your dad would kill you?" Yugi asked sympathetically.

"I'm not sure," Ryou said. "That's why I ran away." Yugi looked at the floor. Ryou sighed. "We better get to bed. Shifts start early." They all began to climb into bed. Yugi's thoughts trailed to his father; so did Malik's. They fell into and uneasy sleep.

XXXX

"Any conclusions?" Duke asked.

"Other than that they're all gothic and are pissed off at all of us," Bakura said. "No." Duke said nothing.

"Did you call Seto and Joey?" Seigyoku asked Yami in a whisper. He shook his head.

"I'll do that when we get home," Seigyoku nodded. They had called Joey earlier to pick up Seimei.

"You should all get some rest," Duke suggested. "Drive safely." They all began to go home, their fearful thoughts slowing the process.

XXXX

Yami kept his promise and called Seto and Joey. They were both shocked at the news and offered to come over. Yami declared their offer and said they would be alright. He thanked Joey for watching Seimei and asked him to keep her tonight. Joey, of course, agreed.

XXXX

Marik wasn't surprised to see ten messages on his answering machine. Probably most of them were nurses reminding him of important surprises. He pressed the blinked red button. He had been right, nine of them were nurse calls. The last one surprised him:

"_Hey dad, I thought this would be easier than writing a letter. I'm not mad at you or anything, I just left with Yugi to protect him. I'll be back soon dad, I promise. Maybe I'll convince Yugi to come back too. I love you dad. Bye."_

"Marik couldn't stop the tears from coming. He fell to his knees and broke down. His only family was gone and he had no clue as to find him or where he was going.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I hope you guys are getting the point I'm trying to shoot for. If you're not, don't worry, I'll explain it at the end. My stories all have a point….except my one shots…those are just random ideas that just won't leave me alone. You guys are probably wondering what's taking me so damn long to update…well I'm working on five other fanfics, including this one…so that's six. Why do I work myself like this? Simple, it gives me something to do! So yeah…I'll give you the names of the other fanfics in the next chapter…that why you'll be able to check them out. Well, hope you guys liked this one. Later and love ya!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Report**

Yugi tiredly rubbed his eyes as he yawned softly. Malik looked at him worriedly. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Sorta," Yugi said. "I think my cough's gone."

"That's good," Malik said. "But you're still weak, right?"

"Yeah," Yugi said. "Just a little though." Malik said nothing; he walked over to Yugi and stood behind him.

"As long as you're feeling better…" he whispered. Yugi shivered at Malik's hot breath on the back of his neck. Malik smiled at this; he gently kissed Yugi's neck.

"Malik…" Yugi protested softly.

"It's okay," Malik said. "We'll hear if someone's coming." Yugi gave a low groan of protest, making Malik giggle. Sure enough, they heard Keith's thundering steps and quickly went back to work; Malik prepared the food and Yugi washed the dishes.

"Good news boys," Keith shouted as he entered the kitchen. Yugi and Malik looked up at him. "Business if booming! I guess hiring you guys was my best bet." He smiled evilly at them. They both felt slightly nervous. "Keep this up and I'll be sure to award you guys." Ryou entered the kitchen at this time. He froze when he saw Keith and looked at the floor. "Keep up the good work," he repeated and left the kitchen. Ryou shivered. Malik and Yugi looked at him.

"He creeps me out," Ryou said. "Bet he's an ex-con." Yugi and Malik giggled. Ryou smiled. "You aren't in trouble, are you?"

"Nah," Malik said. "He was just saying that he's proud of our work and stuff."

"Means he's making more money." Ryou said with a nod.

"What kind of restaurant is this?" Yugi asked.

"One with a bar," Ryou said. "It has a dress code though, but that only makes it **seem** worth while." He stepped closer to Yugi, putting some dishes next to him. "Why? Know some cops that come here?"

"No," Yugi said. "Everyone I know eats uptown."

"What does your dad do?" Ryou asked, interestingly.

"Works for Seto Kaiba," Yugi smiled at the mention of his family friend.

"Mine owns the hospital; works in it too!" Malik said, smiling as well.

"Rich kids," Ryou said. "Now I feel lame,"

"What did yours do?" Yugi asked.

"Stock broker," Ryou said.

"That's not bad," Malik said.

"It's risky," Ryou said. "One minute we're good, the next we're struggling to pay the bills." Malik and Yugi said nothing. "Mom has a job too, but she's only a waitress. Don't earn much doing that." He sighed. "Better get back to work." He headed out the door. Malik and Yugi went back to their work as well.

XXXX

Duke slammed his fists down on his desk, cursing under his breath. _"Damn!"_ he thought. _"Where are these kids?! I've checked every gothic hang out I've heard of!"_ He groaned and leaned back in his chair. _"Where are they? Where would they go?"_ He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes half-way open. He heard knocking, but didn't get up to answer. "What?!" he shouted.

"Mr. Devlin," his secretary said. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he answered rather annoyed. He was surprised to hear his door unlocking and his secretary stepping in.

"Stuck?" she asked as she sat down, her brown eyes on him.

"Yes," Duke said with a slight smile. "Can you help me?"

"I'll try," she said with a giggle.

"Three kids, all gothic, all missing, no where near natural hangouts." He sat up again. "Good kids, perfect grades and a bit anti-social."

"That's all?" she asked, brushing her brown hair out of her face. Duke nodded. She looked down slightly, in thought. "I think I know someone who can help you…" Duke raised an eyebrow at that. "Here's her card," She put it on his desk.

"Her?" Duke asked as he picked it up. His secretary nodded. "I'll get her right on it." He picked up the phone and began dialing the number. His secretary smiled.

XXXX

The ringing telephone only annoyed her slight hangover more. With an aggravated sigh she groped around for it. When she did find it, she didn't bother to look at the caller ID.

"What?" she said as a greeting.

"Mrs. Valentine?" the male voice asked.

"Ms!" she corrected. "I wouldn't get married if my life depended on it."

"My apologies," he said. "My name is Duke Devlin and—!"

"Skip the intro and get to the point!" she replied impatiently.

"Three teens are missing, I need your help." She sat up in bed and stretched. Duke waiting for an answer.

"What's your address?" she asked. Duke smiled and gave her the information.

"Thank you Ms. Valentine." With that, they hung up.

XXXX

Duke looked back at his secretary and smiled. "How'd you know?" he asked. His secretary merely shrugged.

"She's good with kid cases." She said as she stood up. "You won't regret this." She finished as she walked out the door. Duke could only wonder what she meant.

XXXX

Yami only stared into space as he set that table. He started to set a place for Yugi, but stopped. He sighed softly as he continued on. Seigyoku glanced at him over her shoulder. She frowned as she got dinner read. Kiwi meowed softly, pawing at her foot; she ignored him. The doorbell rang, confusing them both. Yami answered the door and blinked when he saw all his friends.

"Hey buddy!" Joey said, waving.

"Guys!" Yami said, still in slight shock. "What are you—?"

"Oh c'mon!" Komoura said, pushing her way inside. "Do you really have to ask?" Yami said nothing. "C'mon Sam, let's go help Sei in the kitchen." Samara greeted Yami as she made her way inside and put Noah down.

"Sweetie, go play with Seimei."

"Kay," Noah said with a smile. The eighteen-month-old toddler headed up the stairs. By now, Seto and Joey had entered. Joey didn't have his crutches with him; he was walking with a slight limp.

"Joey," Yami started to say.

"It doesn't hurt," Joey said. "I just can't put all my weight on it." Yami followed Joey into the kitchen. Everyone was helping with dinner. Yami smiled weakly and began to help out. Like usual, they joked and laughed, but all through all the happiness they all felt that missing piece in their hearts for Yugi.

XXXX

"Hey Malik," Ryou called as he entered the kitchen. Malik looked up. "Keith wants you to take orders tonight."

"Kay," Malik said. He took the notepad and pen from Ryou as he left the kitchen. Ryou then looked at Yugi; he had a glum look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked as he walked over to him.

"I…don't…" Before Yugi could finish his sentence, he felt himself falling back. Ryou called out his name, and that's the last thing Yugi remembered.

XXXX

Malik walked over to a table where a woman had just arrived. She was sipping wine and looking over a menu. She had dark black hair that was curled and tied back. She had dark skin and light purple eyes behind black rectangle glasses. She was dressed in a black business suit, but no case of any kind was next to her, not even a purse.

"Good evening, ma'am," Malik said very politely. "Are you ready to order?" She turned and looked at him only to choke on her wine. "I'm sorry!" Malik said in a panic. "I didn't mean to frighten you!"

"It's alright," she said, holding up her hand. "It wasn't you." She stared at him for a moment. "Have we met before?"

"No," Malik said. "Sorry…" The woman shook her head smiling.

"It's alright," She ordered her food and Malik headed to her kitchen. He could feel the woman's stare on him as he left.

"_Weird,"_ he thought.

XXXX

Marik slowly flipped through an old photo album. Photos of his family, his wife's family, their days in high school, in college, and before they had Malik; then photos of all three of them; finally photos of just him and Malik. He gently ran his finger over Malik's image, traced over his eyes, hair, and body. Tears filled his eyes again; he took in a ragged sigh, hoping to stop what was coming. _"Don't…"_ he told himself. _"It won't help anything…"_

XXXX

Malik came back with the woman's food and put the plate on her table. "Here you go ma'am," he said. She nodded as a thank you. He begin to walk away, but she grabbed his wrist to stop him. He looked back at her.

"Are you sure we haven't met?" she asked again.

"My dad owns the local hospital," Malik said. "If you were a patient, I might have helped him out."

"That's exactly where I remember you." She smiled. Malik smiled too. She let go of his wrist and he waved good-bye as he walked away. She did the same. When he entered the kitchen, no one was there. He blinked, confused. On a hunch, he went to the bedroom. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Ryou?" he called as he knocked. He heard the door quickly unlock, and Ryou quickly pulled him in. "What?" Malik asked.

"Shut up!" Ryou said, locking the door again. He turned to Malik. "Your dad's a doctor right?" Malik nodded. "Then help Yugi!" He turned Malik around to face Yugi on his bed. He was a horrible, deathly pale and his face was red and full of sweat from an increasing fever.

"What do you want me to do?" Malik asked. Ryou shrugged.

"Medical stuff!" Malik shook his head.

"This is out of my league," Malik said. "He needs real medical attention."

XXXX

"Thank you all for coming," Duke said as they all sat down. Duke had invited the families to an uptown, high profile restaurant. Everyone was dressed in their best. "First off," Duke said. "I want to tell you all I hired some help; she's going to assist me in my work. They say her specialty is kid cases." He paused for a minute. "I'm in the meantime, I would like to share the information I have gathered. Yugi and Malik have been gone for two weeks, right?"

Yami and Marik nodded.

"And Ryou's been missing for six months?"

"Seven now," Bakura informed, holding Honoo's hand.

"Alright then," Duke took a deep breath. "I've talked to all their teachers, and they all agree that these kids are not to be taken lightly. They are very smart and will probably outsmart us if we don't think this through."

"Quit telling them stuff the all right know!" a woman said. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a light purple dress that went down to her knees, but had slits in the sides that went to the top of her thighs.

"This is Mai Valentine," Duke said. "She's going to be helping me." She sat down.

"Duke told me about the case," Mai said. "Personally, I think these kids would get jobs somewhere. Even teens know you need money for food and shelter. They'd probably work at some place none of you would go. Any ideas?" The parents fell silent.

"I know where they are," a feminine voice said. They all turned around. Marik's eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly in shock. The dark-skinned woman smiled at him as she sat down next to him. She took her black hair down from his tied back state and removed her rectangle glasses. She straightened out her business suit as she sat down. "They're working at a bar restaurant in down town; owned by Keith Driscol."

"All three of them?" Mai asked. The woman nodded. "And how do you know?"

"Because I saw all of them there when I went eat."

"What's your name, miss?" Duke asked.

"Ishizu Ishtar,"

"You are Malik's aunt?" Mai asked.

"She's his mother," Marik said, finally recovering from shock. "And my wife."

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

You're all probably staring at your computer screens like "WTF?!" Sorry to leave you guys on a cliff-hanger….but that's the way the ball bounces. Anyways, about those six fanfics I mentioned, their names are (Along with their animes):

_Living Curse_: Yu-Gi-Oh

_Reflection_: Yu-Gi-Oh

_Map of a Photograph_: Naruto

_White Shores of the Heart_: Kingdom Hearts

_Darkness Holds Some Answers_: Yu-Gi-Oh

_My Demon-Winged Angel_: Yu-Gi-Oh

_Combined_: Yu-Gi-Oh

So yeah, as you can see I'm busy…Just kinda bear with me when it comes to updates. Truth is, I actually enjoy myself being busy! I know I'm weird, but at least I have stuff to do, right? Anyways, leave reviews and I really hope to hear from you guys!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Reasons to Believe**

Yami, Seigyoku, Marik, Bakura, and Honoo waited impatiently at the police station. Duke and Mai had told them to wait there while they went find Yugi, Malik, and Ryou. They all sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts. None daring to speak; as if a singe word would destroy life…

XXXX

"Ready?" Duke whispered to Mai, their backs to the wall on each side of the restaurant's door. Mai gave a single nod. With that, both drew their guns and Duke kicked the door in. "Police!" he shouted as the officers rushed in. He pointed his gun forward, scanning the room for any signs of life. Everyone heard a small rustle from behind the bar and pointed their guns forward. "Come out!" Duke shouted. Next, they heard someone whistling. They all stiffened. Keith walked out of a door and settled in behind the bar.

"What can I get you officers?" he asked casually.

"Cut the crap Keith!" Duke shouted.

"Where are the boys?" Mai asked.

"I have no idea—!" He was cut off by Mai firing a shot, shattering a wine bottle two inches to the left of Keith's head. "Jesus Christ, lady!"

"Where are they?!" Mai shouted again.

"Lady, I don't know—!" He was cut off by another shot; this one was to the right of his hip. He jumped away in shock.

"Pick one," Mai offered him. "Head shot or castration!"

"Relax," Duke said. "We have a warrant."

"I'll go," Mai said as she and three officers got up and went into the back to search for the teens. They found nothing in the pantry and nothing in the lobby. When she searched the kitchen and found a red and black digital wrist watch. "Bag it," she said. One of the officers did so. She found another door leading to a hallway with a single door at the end of it. She quickly went to the door and found it locked. "Boys?" she called, hoping to get an answer. When she received none, she tried to open the door with her shoulder, but had no luck. "Break it!" she told the officers. They did so and all stepped inside. Ryou, Malik, and Yugi were sleeping in their beds. Mai let out a sigh of relief. She put her gun down and walked over to Ryou. She shook him gently, trying to wake him. "Ryou," she said. "Time to go home," He didn't wake or even stir.

"They seemed to have been drugged," one of the officers concluded.

"Probably to keep them quiet," another suggested.

"Bastard…" Mai said, gripping her gun.

"Captain Valentine!" the third said in a panic. "The small one's have an allergic reaction! Possibly an overdose!"

XXXX

Yami's cell phone began to ring. All eyes shifted to him as he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Seto greeted. "How long has Seimei been sick?"

"Seimei's sick?" Yami asked. Seigyoku looked at him worriedly.

"Yeah," Seto said. "She's running a fever and has chills; she can't even seem to stay awake." Yami sighed.

"Give her whatever you got for now," Yami said. "Seigyoku and I will take care of her later."

"Roger," Seto said. They hung up.

"Seimei alright?" Seigyoku asked.

"Yeah," Yami said. "She's—." His cell phone rang again, along with Marik's and Bakura's. All three answered.

"Hello?" they said. A moment of silence… "WHAT?!"

XXXX

"_Yugi," a soft voice called. "Yugi," Yugi couldn't open his eyes or move for that matter. "Don't worry, everything will be over soon." Yugi didn't have to ask; he knew who the voice belonged to._

"_No!" he shouted mentally. "Leave!"_

"_Now, now." the voice scolded. "I know what's best."_

"_No!" Yugi repeated. "Go away!"_

"_SILENCE!" Yugi felt a horrible burning pain in his chest that constricted his throat. He felt tears rolling down his face. A small whimper escaped him; but he received no mercy._

XXXX

"Sir," a nurse protested. "You really shouldn't—!"

"Shut up," Marik commanded as he put his white coat on and headed for the room he desired. Like expected, Yugi's parents, family friends, and Ryou's parents were waiting outside. They all looked up at his footsteps. Before he could begin speaking, footsteps from the other side of the hall were approaching, along with shouting. It was Ryou; he was being pulled along by two officers and shouting gothic curses at them. Malik, who was walking calmly behind them, had his gaze on the floor with features full of fright. Duke and Mai where behind him.

"Enough," Bakura scolded, only loud enough for Ryou to hear and calm him down. His son only stared back at him. Honoo's eyes filled with tears as she dashed forward and hugged her son. She cried on his shoulder. Slowly, Ryou wrapped his arms around her, looking downward with guilt. Bakura gently patted him on the head. At the moment, Ryou didn't mind being treated like a child.

Malik kept his gaze on the floor as he approached his father. When he reached him, Marik gently lifted his gaze with his finger. His son's eyes held both fear and sadness. Marik's eyes filled with guilt and he gently ruffled Malik's hair. Malik flinched at first, but when he realized what the action was, he calmed down. "I have a surprise for you at home." Marik said. Malik blinked at him. "You're going to like it." Malik smiled weakly.

"Don't worry about anything gentlemen," Mai said. "Keith's going to jail for a while."

"He'll be charged with aiding kidnapping and break child labor laws." Duke explained. All the parents nodded and the two detectives were off.

Yami looked at the closed door in front of him. He knew Yugi and Seimei were in there with some horrible illness he probably never heard of. However, he, nor Seigyoku, could enter that room right now. According to hospital protocol, Marik had to prepare him and Seigyoku first. Yami couldn't remember how many times he went over in his mind how ridiculous that was, but he really didn't care as long as he got to see his children.

"Mr. Mouto," Marik said, making Yami looked up. "Your children both have a serious case of phenomena. Both will have to be under strict watch." Yami nodded.

"Can we see them?" Seigyoku asked. Slowly, Marik nodded. He opened the door and held it open. As soon as everyone stepped inside, a loud screech filled the room and shattered the ceiling lights. Everyone ducked to avoid the flying glass. The screech ended once all the glass littered the floor.

"Damn," Joey muttered. Ryou stepped forward and took a picture of the room with his digital camera. He pulled the image up on the screen and showed it to Yami. Yami took the camera from Ryou. Anzu's ghostly image was slightly blurred on the screen; she had demonic red eyes and long claws.

"She doesn't like you," Ryou stated.

"I know," Yami said, his eyes going to Malik. "Why is she still here?" Malik's guilty look came back and he hesitated to answer.

"If you summon some, they can't go back until they severed their purpose." Ryou explained.

"Yugi wanted to remember her," Malik said. "He has to remember the way she was the last time she was around." Yami looked back at his friends, remembering the injuries they endured because of his curse. He then looked at his children, both asleep in hospital beds, hooked up to breathing machines. He walked over to Yugi's bed, avoiding as much glass as he could, and gently kissed Yugi's forehead.

"Remember…" He whispered to him.

XXXX

By nightfall; Yami, Seigyoku, and their friends were only in the room. Everyone also had gone home, and, probably, retired to bed. They all stood there in silence, starting at both of the kids, all praying that they would wake up.

Seto's hand trailed to his heart, remember the shot long ago that threatened to take his life. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was here today. He thought of his little brother, who was touring the world becoming a famous photographer; he looked at his wife, holding their sleeping son; both of whom he loved very much. A small smile came across his face as he slipped an arm around her. She smiled weakly as well and gently rested her head on his shoulder. Seto gently caressed Noah's face, only to kiss him softly as a good-night.

Joey and Komoura stood closely together; arms wrapped tightly around each other. Both thinking about their future plans; the wedding, the honey-moon, maybe some kids of their own. Joey gently rested his head on Komoura's. He could only imagine what being a father was like; the joys and the sorrows. Joey smiled and gently cuddled Komoura. She smiled as well; happy he agreed.

XXXX

Marik's eyes shifted to Malik, who sat in the passenger seat as they drove home. He was looking downward, his hands clasped tightly. Marik only sighed softly. "Yugi's going to be fine,"

"I know," Malik answered. Marik knew he only said that when he didn't feel like talking. It annoyed him slightly.

"Things are going to be better from now on," Marik said. He pulled into the driveway. "I promise." He smiled as they exited the care. "Ready for your surprise?" he asked Malik as they entered the house. Malik said nothing, nervousness consuming him. Marik flipped on the lights. Someone stepped out from the kitchen. Malik blinked in slightly confusion; it was the woman from the restaurant. She smiled at him.

"You…" Malik said.

"Hi," She smiled.

"Dad…?" Malik said, turning to him. Marik smiled.

"Malik, she's your mother…" Marik said slowly.

"I'm sorry for leaving for so long," Ishizu said as she stepped closer. "But now I'm back." Malik only stared at her. "I'm sorry," She hugged him tightly; Malik hugged her back, tears filling his eyes.

"Why…?" he started to ask.

"Shh," his mother said gently. "It doesn't matter now…" She held her son tightly as he cried out all of his tears.

XXXX

"Are you mad?" Ryou asked. He was sitting on the couch and his father was in an arm chair across from it, reading the newspaper.

"No," Bakura answered.

"Are you going to punish me?" Ryou asked.

"No," Bakura repeated. He turned the page of the newspaper.

"Are you going to do anything?" Ryou asked.

"I did forget to do something," Bakura put the newspaper down and sat on the sofa next to Ryou. Ryou swallowed nervously. Bakura slowly hugged Ryou tightly.

"You already did this," Ryou said, blushing lightly.

"Not enough," Bakura said chuckling. He pulled Ryou into his lap, wrapping both arms around him to keep him there.

"Dad," Ryou said in slight annoyance. Bakura laughed at him.

"I love you, Ryou." He said. "And I missed you."

"You said all that earlier." Ryou reminded.

"I know," Bakura tightened his hold. "I just wanted to make sure you would remember." They both fell silent. Ryou looked up at his father and hesitantly, cuddled up to him. Bakura smiled and ran his fingers lightly through Ryou's hair.

XXXX

_A low growl escaped from her lips as she gazed down upon her son. By the way he was acting; she knew she didn't have much time._

"_He'll learn," she thought. "He'll learn who my KILLER WAS!" Her eyes turned red and her fingernails turned into demonic claws. A loud screeching call came from her, splitting everyone's ears. The machine's malfunctioned and some shattered. "DIE MARIK!"_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: The Song of a Caged Bird**

"There," Seigyoku said with a sigh as she finished bandaging up Yugi's hand. "How the hell does everything explode in one night?"

"Beats me," Yami said, cleaning a cut on Seimei's forehead. He looked away from Seigyoku. He still hadn't told her Anzu was back. Only he, Seto, Joey, Yugi, Malik, Marik, and Ryou knew. He had debated all night whether or not to tell her, but couldn't decide if he should. What if she thought he was crazy and left him again? He couldn't deal with that. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Seigyoku asked.

"Uh…just a little tired." Yami said quickly.

"Maybe you should rest, I can watch the kids." She smiled. Yami returned the gesture and walked over to her. He kissed her softly. She smiled at him.

"Got the food!" Joey said as he entered the room. Yami and Seigyoku quickly got away from each other. Joey didn't seem to have noticed anything. Yami and Seigyoku giggled to themselves.

XXXX

Marik sipped at his coffee as he scanned though Yugi's medical history. There wasn't really anything in it; no allergies, no major diseases like asthma or diabetes; he only had recent cases in it. He then pulled up Anzu's and blinked at what he saw. It had her death date on there and said the cause of death was internal bleeding from a broken leg bone caused by the hit-and-run accident. But something below that somewhat contradicted that information. Stated below all that was several appointments for chemotherapy, not just any chemotherapy, one for bone cells. This was one of the rarest and most painful types of cancer. Like other cancers, it caused the victim to bruise easily; however, this cancer also made the bones brittle. Curious Marik picked up the phone and called Duke Devlin, hoping he could give him some information on the case. It rang five times before he picked up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Mr. Devlin," Marik said. "This is Marik." He sighed. "I need a huge favor."

"Uhm, okay." Duke said. "What is it?"

"I need you to pull up Anzu's Mouto's case file," Marik said, still reading her medical records.

"I can't do that," Duke said.

"She's dead, and I found something weird on her medical files." Marik quickly stated before Duke went into the legal stuff.

"What kind of weird?" Duke asked.

"Give me your information, then I'll give you mine." Marik said. There was a long silence between them.

"Fine," Duke said giving in. "Give me a second." Marik heard him typing on the keyboard. He waited impatiently for the answer. "Okay," he said. "I found it." Marik held his breath. "She died of a broken knee that caused internal bleeding."

"I know that," Marik said. "What angle was her knee broken at?" He heard Duke scroll down.

"It says it was broken at 45°," Duke said. "Weird for a car accident."

"She didn't die of a car accident," Marik concluded.

"What are you talking about?" Duke said. "I'm looking at the photos right now. She covered in bruises."

"She had cancer," Marik said. "Bone cancer." He leaned back in his chair. "She was easily bruised and it made her bones weak and brittle."

"It says here, that she was out for a jog." Duke read. There was a long pause. "Was she taking medication?"

"Yes," Marik said. "She attended chemotherapy for three months, then stopped." He read on. "I'm not sure why through. Who was the investigator on this case?"

"He retired," Duke said. "I'll call him later and ask him for the case. Could jogging cause her weak bones to break?"

"Yes," Marik repeated. "Especially if she was running hard and on a concrete road." They fell silent again. Marik continued to scroll through Anzu's file. "Found it," Marik said. "She stopped taking chemotherapy because…" He trailed off.

"What?" Duke asked. "Why'd she stop?"

"Because she was pregnant," Marik whispered.

"So, she basically killed herself?" Duke asked. "Who was her doctor?"

"I was…" Marik said. "I think I killed her…"

XXXX

Yugi took in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He released his breath as he sat up. "Malik?" he asked in a hoarse. Everyone looked up at him. Without saying a word; Yami got up from his seat, walked over to Yugi's bed, sat on the edge of it and pulled Yugi into his lap, almost cradling him. "Malik?" Yugi asked, resting his head on Yami's chest. Yami realized Yugi must have been delusional from medication.

"Dad," Yami corrected. "And…I missed you…we all did…"

"Sorry," Yugi said casually, as if he merely forgot to do something. Yami laughed lightly at this.

"Stay awake, okay Yugi?" Yami said.

"Kay," Yugi whispered. Yami laughed again. It took about an hour for Yugi's meds to wear off. When they did, he regretted every bit of it. "Everything hurts," he said.

"Well," Yami said. "That's the downside of being sick."

"Hungry?" Joey asked him, joining Yami at Yugi's bedside.

"No thanks…" Yugi said. "The mention of food makes my stomach turn."

"Don't worry," Seto said. "I'm sure you'll feel better soon." He smiled at Yugi, who smiled back. Yami hugged him tightly.

"Dad…" Yugi said, squirming to get away.

"Promise me you'll never do that again," Yami said, holding Yugi tighter.

"Okay, okay!" Yugi said. "I promise. Now let me go!" Yami laughed as he did so. Yugi smiled weakly at him. Knocking at the door made them turn.

"Come in," Yami said. Marik and Duke walked in.

"Mr. Mouto," Marik said. "We found some new information on your deceased wife's case." Yugi tensed up, interested.

"We would like to talk to you outside," Duke said. Yami got off of Yugi's bed and started to go with them, but Yugi grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I want to hear it too!" Yugi protested.

"I'll tell you later," Yami promised.

"No you won't!" Yugi shouted. "You'll either sugar-coat it or won't tell me at all!" I want to hear it for myself!" There was a pause. Yami looked at Marik and Duke; he nodded slowly nodded. Both wanted to protest, but continued anyways.

"Mr. Mouto," Duke said. "The case file says that Anzu was out for a jog and was hit by a car. The impact broke her knee and she bled to death because of it. Some bruising supported this."

"However," Marik took over. "Her medical file suggested another theory." He paused for a moment. "Your…uhm…Anzu had been diagnosed with a very rare bone cancer five years before her death."

"I didn't know that…" Yami said, eyes wide in shock. "She never told me…" He sat back down on Yugi's bed, incase his legs would give out.

"Any ideas why?" Duke asked.

"Because we couldn't afford the treatment," Yami said, speaking slowly. "We had only been married for a year; we were still struggling…"

"She had started the chemotherapy," Marik said. "But stopped three months after."

"Why?" Yami asked, even more confused from when they started.

"Because she was pregnant." Marik said. Yugi tensed up; he couldn't breathe. "Continuing the therapy would have affected the baby in terrible ways; to continue the chemotherapy, she would have to have gotten an abortion. She refused to do so, so she quit the therapy." They were all silent. Yami scanned his brain, but was at a lost for words.

"Couldn't she just have continued the therapy after Yugi was born?" Yami asked.

"The cancer had developed too far," Marik said. "It would have been pointless."

"_I killed her…"_ Yugi thought; tears filled his eyes.

"So," Yami said, taking a deep breath. "How did she die?"

"You said she went jogging right?" Duke asked. Yami nodded. "Well, since her bones were brittle, they would be easy to break. She could have tripped and fell, ending in horrible results. And since she would easy to subside to bruises, a fall could create worse bruises on her than a healthier person."

"Everything was just an accident?" Yami asked. Duke and Marik nodded once. Yami smiled; a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders….Now, he was truly over Anzu. "Thank you." He said gratefully. He turned to Yugi, who was in some state of shock. Yami blinked at him. "Yugi?"

"She died because of me?" he asked, his voice shaky and eyes full of tears.

"No!" Yami said quickly.

"Yes she did!" Yugi said, squeezing his eyes shut. "If—!" The new lights began to hum loudly before finally shattering and enclosing the room in black.

"Again!" Marik shouted. Everyone froze…

"What just happened?" Duke asked.

"Faulty wiring," Marik said, looking around.

"Okay…" Duke said. "I'm going to leave now…" He left and closed the door behind him. Marik sighed.

"I'm too old for this…" Marik muttered. Yami laughed as Marik left. Soon, Marik had them moved to another room and everyone settled down. Yami crawled into Yugi's bed and laid down next to him.

"You okay?" Yami asked him. Yugi didn't answer, he kept his gaze on the ceiling. "You didn't kill her," Yami continued. "She gave up her life for you. She wanted you to live, even if that meant she couldn't be around for long."

"Then why do I feel so bad?" Yugi asked.

"Because you're looking at it the wrong way," Seigyoku said as she joined them.

"Then how do I look at it?" Yugi asked.

"The way I just explained." Yami said.

"That's kinda hard…" Yugi said.

"It'll get easier," Seigyoku said, smiling. "You'll see," Yugi smiled at her. For once in what seemed like an eternity, Yami saw the beautiful innocence in Yugi's eyes that had once disappeared.

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Okay, this is just to clear up some confusion:

Yami and Anzu were married for 5 years.

Anzu died when Yugi was 4.

She was diagnosed with bone cancer after she and Yami were married for 1 year. Any kind of cancer makes the person weaker and easily bruised and/or cut.

She did not die in a hit-and-run accident; she died from falling during a jog and breaking her knee.

Are we all cool? Good! If you still don't get it, leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter. Hope to hear from you guys! Love ya and later!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Curses in White**

"Hi Yugi!" Malik and Ryou said in unison as they entered the room.

"Hey guys," Yugi said. At the moment, his hospital room was empty. His family and friends had gone out to eat, taking Seimei with them, since she was already over her sickness. Yugi was still running a fever and having trouble breathing.

"When are you going back home?" Ryou asked.

"About a day or two," Yugi answered.

"Yay!" Malik said, his false happiness meant to annoy Yugi.

"Glorious," Yugi said, plopping down on his bed and putting his hand over his eyes.

"I'm gonna go get a soda," Ryou said. "You guys want one?"

"Yeah," Yugi and Malik said in unison. With that, Ryou was out the door. Malik looked over at Yugi; a smile came across his lips. He slowly walked over to Yugi's bed and crawled onto it, until he was over Yugi on his hands and knees. Yugi heard the bed squeak and laughed lightly.

"You pervert," he told Malik as he looked up at him. Malik giggled.

"What's your point?" he asked. He started to kiss Yugi, but he stopped him.

"You'll get sick," he said. Malik blinked.

"Okay then," Malik began to kiss Yugi's neck instead. Yugi gladly exposed it for him, a perverted smile of his own on his face. He felt Malik suck on his skin. Yugi began to squirm.

"Don't…" he said.

"Why?" Malik asked, breathing on Yugi's neck.

"Because you'll leave a mark that everyone will see." Yugi pushed Malik up. "I'll let you do it next time, I promise." He smiled. Malik rolled his eyes.

"You better," he said, getting off the bed. Yugi giggled. Ryou came back with the soda. They all began to talk.

"Before I forget to tell you guys!" Ryou said excitedly. "Next year, I'll be going to the same high school as you guys."

"Really?" Malik asked. Ryou nodded.

"That's cool!" Yugi said.

"I know," Ryou said. "Dad did that for me."

"You're gonna be a junior right?" Malik asked. Ryou nodded.

"We're in the same grade!" Yugi said. Ryou blinked at him.

"You're a junior?" he asked.

"He will be," Malik said. "He's so smart, they're letting him skip grades."

"Cool," Ryou said. Yugi smiled. The rest of their afternoon was spent talking and joking. They stopped when Yugi's family returned.

"Bye Yugi!" Malik and Ryou said in unison as they left. Seigyoku blinked.

"Did we chase them away?" she asked. Yugi shook his head.

"They just came to talk," he explained. "When can I go home?"

"In a few days," Yami said. "Yugi sighed heavily as he lied down.

XXXX

"Finally!" Yugi said when he entered their home. He quickly ran upstairs to his room, immediately lying on his bed. _"I missed my bed,"_ he thought as he curled up in it. He sighed happily. He heard someone laughing at him, but he sat up and looked around, no one was there. _"I'm so stressed, I'm hearing things,"_ he thought. He got up and walked to his bathroom. _"A warm bath should help."_ He turned on the water, closed the door, and began to disrobe. When they water was warm enough, he turned it off and got in. He sighed as he began to relax. He closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of the water. He slid downward until the water was to his shoulders. Small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead; he didn't mind. He remained in his relaxed state. Yugi's shoulders then became tense. He shifted them, but it didn't help. He sank lower, the water now up to his neck. The same tense feeling moved to his neck. _"I'm not going further,"_ he thought. Sighing, he decided to get out, but he realized he couldn't get up. He could move, but he couldn't get up.

"_You're coming with me…"_

Yugi's eyes widened. He felt the force push him under the water. He struggled to push whatever it was off, but couldn't. He hadn't taken in a breath, so he was now drowning. He opened his mouth to call out, but that didn't do him any good. He squeezed his eyes shut, finally giving up and waiting for death…

XXXX

There was a horrible throbbing in his head. He slowly opened his eyes, surrounded by a freezing atmosphere. H gasped, taking in a mouthful of water. He shot up, shivering. He had been under water so long, the warmth had disappeared and it was now cold. The throbbing noise was actually someone knocking on his bathroom door. He quickly got out the water, dried himself off, and redressed. He unplugged the tub before answering the door. "Hey dad," he said. "What up?"

"Go help Sei with dinner when you're done, okay?" he said. Yugi nodded. Yami gave him a weird look before leaving; Yugi sighed heavily. He headed downstairs and entered the kitchen.

"Hey Yugi," Seigyoku greeted. "Help me out so everything will be ready."

"Ready for what?" he asked.

"Seto, Samara, Joey, and Komoura." She said, smiling.

"Oh," Yugi began to help prepare the food. Seigyoku looked at him.

"So, I heard you fainted at your baptism." She said. Yugi frowned and blushed deeply. "What's up with that? You afraid of water?" She giggled. Yugi stared at her with wide eyes. When she noticed this, she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh Yugi," she said. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said. "Just don't tell anyone." She shook her head, meaning she wouldn't. "I'm not afraid to be in it, just under it…" he explained. "And I don't know why either…" They were both silent.

"I won't tell," she promised. "Guess that's why you were so annoyed by that." Yugi nodded. "Did it you, like, a weird nightmare vision?" she asked.

"Yes," Yugi answered automatically. He shivered at the memory. "There was blood everywhere…I was covered in it and it was all around me…it wasn't mine…but it was still fresh and warm to the touch…"

"Oh Yugi," Seigyoku wrapped her arms around him. "It's alright…" Yugi froze; how was he suppose to react? He looked downward at the floor, blushing slightly. Yugi's skin began to burn where Seigyoku was touching him, as if she was branding him. He didn't say anything though. Seigyoku blinked and looked down at Yugi when she felt something warm and sticky on her hands. She released him and looked at her hands; they were covered in blood. "Yugi?" she asked. He turned to her; two areas on his arms were bleed. "When did…how…?"

"Please don't say anything," Yugi whispered. "Dad will get mad." She stared at him long and hard before catching on.

"How long…?" she asked in a whisper.

"Since you first met Malik."

"That was months ago!" She shouted in a whisper as she washed her hands in the sink.

"You won't tell dad will you?" he asked. "He already knows but he didn't want you to know!"

"Fine," she agreed. "Just get rid of her!"

"I have to remember her," Yugi said. "But I can't!"

"What do you remember?" Seigyoku asked.

"You protecting me…" he whispered. Seigyoku sighed.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm sure it'll come back to you." She smiled. Yugi did the same. "Come on, we better hurry." Yugi nodded and began to help her out.

XXXX

"That oughta do it," Seigyoku said, looking over the set table.

"It looks great," Yami commented as he entered the kitchen.

"Thanks," she said. "Yugi helped of course." Yami smiled at him; Yugi smiled weakly. "Wanna see something scary?" Yami blinked at her. She held up three fingers and counted them down to one. When there was zero, the doorbell rang. Yami and Yugi blinked at her.

"Lucky guess," he said as he went get the door.

"I saw the headlights in the window," Seigyoku whispered to Yugi. Yugi laughed. Joey entered the kitchen with his usual greeting and everyone soon joined them. They sat down, enjoying the dinner. When they were done, they cleaned the dishes and moved to the living room. Noah and Seimei began to play, while the adults began to talk; Yugi merely listened. His gaze went to the ceiling fan light. He stared at it, daydreaming really. As she stared, the light began to get brighter and brighter. He didn't really notice it until everyone else did.

"What's up with your lights?" Komoura asked.

"Beats me," Seigyoku said. "Maybe…" The light bulb shattered. They all ducked to avoid the glass. The one in the kitchen soon did the same and they all could hear the ones upstairs. Soon the house was in pitch black.

"Mommy…" Seimei said, as she carefully walked over to one of her parents. She made her way to Yami.

"I got ya," he said. Noah eventually made his way to Samara. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Mew…" Kiwi said softly. Yami huffed.

"The only one who can see in the dark and he's scared!"

"Leave Ki-Cat alone!" Seigyoku said defensively. Seigyoku secretly gripped Yugi's hand. He didn't jump, he knew exactly who it was. A small glow began to show from the top of the stairs. Everyone turned to see. They began to hear footsteps coming down. As this person or thing got closer, more light came into the room. Step…Step…Step…until the image appeared. Anzu stood mid-way down the stairs glaring at them. She was only semi-transparent. Her pale eyes went over all of them. She raised her hand, snapped her fingers. Within seconds, Noah and Seimei were asleep. Panicked, the male adults stood, ready to fight. A small, evil smile came across her lips. She held out her hand and said something in a language they didn't understand. A sonic wave of energy came out, picking up the males and slamming them against the back wall. The females gasped, calling out their lover's name. Anzu walked down a few more steps, her gaze on Yugi, who had never taken his eyes off her. His gaze wasn't of fear, but of determination.

"Yugi," Anzu said. She finished off her sentence in that weird language, holding out her hand as she did. Yugi shook his head. She glared at him, her eyes turning red.

XX(This conversation isn't understood by anyone except Anzu and Yugi)XX

"Why?!" Anzu shouted. Yugi didn't answer. "It's because of her!" Anzu lifted Seigyoku with the same energy she had used to push back the males. Anzu then began to choke her. Seigyoku reached for her neck, trying to pry off the invisible hands.

"Put my mother down!" Yugi shouted at Anzu as he stood up. Anzu hissed at these words and covered her ears, dropping Seigyoku.

"You dare defy me!" Anzu shouted. "You will pay!" She jumped from the stairs and charged at Yugi. His family called out his name as he just stood there. Anzu raised her claws for the attack, slicing Yugi, only to go right through him without leaving a mark. Confused, Anzu tried again and again, getting the same results. When Yugi had enough, he grabbed one of Anzu's wrists and twisted it in a way that would have broken it if she had bones; it did cause her a great amount of pain.

"I remember now," Yugi said. "I never wanted to remember you as a child, I wanted to forget!" Anzu glared at him.

"You will never forget me!" She shouted. She freed her hand and grabbed Yugi by his shoulders. She pulled him to her and pressed their foreheads together. Yugi's features never showed an ounce of fear. She growled at this and closed her eyes. Yami saw a bright light before seeing and image of his younger self playing with Anzu.

"Fake memories?" Yugi asked, smirking. "I can fix that!" Every time Anzu tried to implant another fake memory, Yugi would picture Seigyoku with him instead of Anzu. Anzu took no notice of this, until it was too late. Once the 'memories' were over, she released Yugi, who had passed out.

"NO!" she shouted with a demonic hiss. "How could you, Yugi! I'm your mother!" She covered her face as tears of blood ran down her face. She screamed as she was engulfed in Hell's flames and faded away.

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Yeah I know, this chapter sucks. I'm not good with the whole horror thing…so you don't have to flame me on this one. Uhm…so yeah, reviews please…and one more chapter to go.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Epilogue**

Yugi rushed downstairs as he buttoned up his long-sleeve black uniform shirt. Yami laughed as him as he entered the kitchen.

"You still have an hour," he said.

"No I don't," Yugi said. "High school starts half an hour earlier than junior high." Yami blinked.

"How far away is the high school?"

"About ten minutes," Seigyoku said. Yugi stared at her. "What?"

"Most moms would be all hysterical about their kid's first day of high school." he said.

"I know," Seigyoku said. "But when I was pregnant with Seimei, I swore I would never act like my mother."

"How would your mother act?" Yugi asked. Seigyoku looked at him. She put down everything and took a deep breath.

"You just signed the death sentence," Yami said. Before Yugi could asked, Seigyoku tightly wrapped her arms around him and burst into false tears.

"My son is going to high school!" she 'cried'. "My precious baby!" Yami burst into laughter as she 'cried' for a few more minutes. "You want me to act like that?" Seigyoku asked, returning to normal. Yugi slowly shook his head with fearful eyes. "Good," she released him, allowing him to breathe. Yugi still kept his fearful gaze on her as Yami tried to stop laughing.

XXXX

Yugi straightened out his uniform as he got out of the car. "At least it's black," Yugi said. Yami and Seigyoku got out of the car as well.

"Okay," Seigyoku said, pulling out a digital camera out of her purse. "I know I promised I wouldn't spaz, but can I get a picture. Yugi smiled and nodded. He stood in front of the school and smiled. "Ready?" Seigyoku asked, adjusting the settings. "One…two…three!" At the last second, Ryou and Malik joined in, standing next to Yugi, giving the 'victory sign'. Yugi decided to do the same.

"Cheese!" the three boys said before the flash. Seigyoku and Yami laughed as the picture was taken.

"Morning boys," Yami said. "Have a good day at school."

"Yes sir!" All three said in unison, saluting him. Yami smiled at them. They all turned and headed for the school.

"By Yugi!" Yami and Seigyoku called.

"Bye dad!" Yugi called. "Bye mom!"

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That's it people, that's the end! So did you like it? So now that you're finished with this one, you can check out my other works…PLEASE!...Leave reviews so I know what you think. Also, if you think I can improve in any way, let me know. I'm open to opinions.


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